Wild Card
by Randie Reigns
Summary: He never expected to fall in love with one of the most picked on girls in school, but she was not what he had expected. His instant lust fuels his dreams, but his social standing would never allow him to date someone so unacceptable. But his heart screams too loud when she is around. How long will he be able to hide his secret crush?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Original story with borrowed characters. This is an alternate universe story. I do not own any of the characters except my own. No disrespect intended.

**Chapter One**

Randy looked around his home. It was a large three story brick home with a swimming pool in the back yard and a tennis court, but he had lived there alone. His father, known as Cowboy in the wrestling world, was rarely there, leaving the teenager with only a housekeeper for company.

The night before his father had sprung disturbing news on him, telling him he was getting married – to a woman he barely knew, but it would be Randy's life that would change. He was used to doing whatever he wanted when he wanted. He was accustomed to having parties with no parental supervision and he knew his new stepmother would stand in the way of his relaxed life. He despised her even though they had yet to meet.

"How do I look, son?" Bob walked into the large living room that had been decorated by his deceased mother so many years before. It was all he had of the woman he barely remembered and the thought of someone taking that away angered him.

"Like a fool." Randy growled and stomped his own leather dress shoes toward the front door. He slammed it and headed to his father's truck. His father may have demanded his attendance, but no one could make him be happy about it.

"Well, I guess this isn't going to be as easy as I hoped." Bob softly moaned as he climbed in and started the vehicle. "But I'm warning you, Randy. Keep your mouth shut if you can't be respectable. Patty is a sweet woman."

"You mean a dirty waitress."

"Watch your mouth!" Bob bellowed. "I love this woman and I really can't remember when you became so spoiled. I didn't raise you …"

"You were never around to raise me," The fifteen year old fumed. "Don't you think it's a little late to find some woman to pawn me off on? I don't need a mother!"

"What you need is a good ass whooping." The country born man bellowed. "We're here. You better mind your manners."

The local courthouse was almost as old as the town itself. He stared up at it, hating it and the new world he was about to enter.

"She has a daughter almost your age," Bob spent there last steps trying to persuade Randy into giving his blessing, but he refused. "Andrea goes to your school."

"I don't know any Andrea," he continued to pout.

"She's a grade behind you, I believe." Randy rolled his eyes. "There they are." A woman wearing a simple white sundress with blue flowers waved her hand madly with a big smile and his father seemed to forget about him as his lips broadened and he quickened his steps to wrap his arms around the gold digger. Beside her a girl wearing glasses and an ankle length pink skirt stood with her arms crossed over her old fashioned blouse. Randy moaned again. Andrea Dalton, better known as Fugly, was not the ideal step sister and would damage his reputation just by association. He belonged to the social elite of his high school and he enjoyed a spot as the football team's captain. He was a great athlete, an awesome quarterback and a valued player on the field. His life equaled that of celebrity status when he walked down the halls with his group of friends. Everyone knew him, he could have any girl he wanted and every guy wanted to be him.

Andrea on the other hand, was a blister on humanity's thumb. She was slightly overweight, always wore ill-fitting and out of style clothes and he had never seen her without her hair pulled back into a tight bun, but it was the first time he had ever seen her without a stack of books. He would have been happy if she was a faceless nobody, but his friends knew her and she and her friend were the subject of many of their jokes. He, himself had never started the teasing, but he had often laughed and joined in. Now he would have to deal with their ridicule as well and that made him instantly hate her. It wasn't fair how much his life was going to change when the winter break was over. It just wasn't right that his world was crushed because of his father's crush on a woman he had only known a month.

"Hi, Randy." Patty touched his arm. "I've heard so much about you." He wanted to say he hadn't heard a damn thing about her, but instead he smiled politely.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," but inside he wanted to chase her away. He wanted to act out and terrify her so she would never say I do.

"Oh, don't be so formal." The brunette had a kind voice and she had one strand of grey hair that tattled her age even though her face appeared quite young. "This is my daughter Andrea," she introduced the young girl who gazed up with terrified eyes.

"Yeah, I know Andrea," he tainted his voice with a growl and glared daggers, warning her right from the beginning. If the nobody had made plans to make her life better just by knowing him, he was going to make sure she knew better right from the beginning. Nothing would change. Nothing!

"I think it's our turn, baby." The sentimental nickname his father used made his stomach churn. How embarrassing it was going to be when all his friend found out that his father had married the waitress from the truck stop on the highway.

They were joined by a tall man nicknamed Diesel, his father's co-worker and closest friend and a woman who must have been close to Patty. Most likely another waitress and Randy wondered if her friend had the same plan when she smiled at Diesel, but he knew the longtime family friend was smarter than to let some woman reel him into a money grubbing trap. It was just too bad the man had not been able to talk some sense into his father.

The magistrate that performed the marriage had a romantic heart and her office was made to look as beautiful as a wedding chapel. It was decorated with roses and had wispy curtains draped around a set of open French doors that led out to a balcony. The couple stood out on that balcony, overlooking a large cascading fountain and if he did not look to the side and see the desk and book shelves, he would not have been reminded that it was a quick and cheap event.

He mumbled under his breath as the vows were exchanged, wishing his father would back out, but he would not be so lucky and inevitably, it was sealed with a kiss.

"Don't worry, kid. Your old man knows what he's doing. He would have been stupid if he didn't grab that one up." Diesel patted him on the shoulder as they walked out the court house. He, too seemed taken with Patty and Randy felt all alone. "You'll see. So, I hear it's just you and me this weekend. A guy's night. What do you want to do?"

"Who cares?" Randy shrugged. "He sure as hell doesn't. Why don't you buy me a case of beer? It's not like my old man would care."

"You're Dad loves you more than anything in this world."

"Sure he does." Randy growled as the newlyweds said good bye to their children and friends and climbed into his father's truck. They were heading off to their honeymoon at some sleazy hotel without a care in the world about how unhappy their children were. He could tell by the sad look on Andrea's face that she was not thrilled with the new situation.

"Your father wants Patty's daughter to stay with us this weekend. She should be coming over later tonight. They will move their things when your father gets home."

"Oh, you mean he's going to stay home for once." He could not hide the resentment he had for his father. "And since when do I need a babysitter. I'm always on my own."

Diesel laughed.

"I'm no babysitter, kid. I just need a place to crash until I hit the road again on Monday. If you don't want me to stay, I can grab a room somewhere."

"I don't care." But Randy knew the man was only trying to make him feel like he had a choice. He knew better. His father probably wanted to make sure that the two teens didn't do anything that would be considered inappropriate considering their new sibling status. The thought of him touching Fugly Andrea made him want to vomit and it was worse when he thought about how much he would soon know about the gross girls every day habits.

"Where should I sleep?" Andrea asked with a quiet whisper and downcast eyes when she was dropped off by Patty's friend. She held a backpack on her shoulder and a bag in each hand and her body trembled.

"You can pitch a tent in the backyard for all I care, Fugly," he spat. "Just stay far away from me."

"Hello." His housekeeper, Rose, came out of the kitchen drying her hands and betraying Randy by greeting the young girl with kindness. "Mr. Bob has already picked out a beautiful room for you miss. Randal, why don't you help your new sister."

"She isn't my sister." Randy continued to resist and Diesel slapped the back of his head with a large hand, forcing him to snatch one of her bags and head up the staircase behind Rosa. He groaned even louder when she climbed past the second level and headed toward the attic space. That was his space and now it would be invaded by a nerd. The third story was nothing but two bedrooms, each with a private bathroom and a sitting space in the middle. He usually felt like he was living in his own little apartment and now he would have to share it with someone like Fugly Andrea. He cursed his father even more.

"There!" he threw the bag on the bed, turned on his heel and stormed out. "And don't you show your face when my friends get here later."

Please Review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Teagan slowly made her way through the halls hugging her books close to her chest. She kept her head down, letting loose red strands hide her face from the crowd. She was invisible for the time being and she hoped she could grab her bagged lunch from the lunchroom and make it to the hidden corner before one of the jock's noticed. Social standing in her high school was very important and somehow she and her friend had managed to land on the bottom of the list.

"Hi." Andrea said when she met her in the cafeteria. Her friend wore her normal worn out hoodie over her long skirt. The two were often labeled as the nerd twins, Fugly and Frizzilla. She hated the name that had followed her the entire year just because she had wild long locks that often frizzed about her face as the day went by. And she never thought that Andrea deserved her name. She wasn't an unattractive girl, only too shy to show it.

She thought that she deserved that name more. She had pale skin and freckles and her naturally curly hair was never tamed. She was forbidden to wear make-up and she was often teased about her old clothes, but it was the best she could do thanks to her selfish and strict alcoholic father who would be furious if he saw her with her hair tied back with the thick rubber band she had gotten from a teacher.

"Tuna subs today." Andrea turned up her nose, but it made Teagan smile. It was her favorite, but she could never tell Andrea that. They weren't close enough to have discussions about their likes or dislikes. Actually, they were only study buddies, both concerned more about their GPA's than anything else and they knew they were rivals in the race for valedictorian. Still, they were a good pair. What one didn't know, the other did and she often believed they would tie for the spot by the end of their high school career.

"Hold on, I have to get my food."

Teagan's heart stopped. The familiar voice always stunned her and made her nervous and she knew he was standing right behind her.

"Randy! That is so gross!" she heard the Brandy, the head cheerleader who clung to his side, whine.

"You know this is my favorite." She gasped, unable to believe that they had something in common, but she commanded herself not to shake as she took her wrapped sandwich and headed to the salad bar. She unwrapped it and took a deep breath and grabbed for the bin that held the condiments she would add. A pack of relish, mustard and finely chopped onions – but as she grabbed for the onion packet it was met by his. She knew she was turning red in the face as their hands touched and she pulled her back like it had burned her.

"Ewe!" Brandy exclaimed when Randy placed the packet in his bag. "You're going to have onion breath."

"It's not as good without it." He smiled, looked her way and tossed a pack into her bag. "Is it, sweetie?" He winked – at her! Then he moved on with his girlfriend still complaining that he had not chosen the same lunch as she had, but Teagan was left with a smile she could not wipe off her face. Randy as not like the other boys that teased her. Sure, he was part of their group. Actually, he seemed to be the leader, but he never had said anything mean to her. He only stood back while his friends did. He laughed with them, but still he had never initiated the bullying, which made it hard for her to extinguish the crush she's had on him since the day she had first seen him and she knew she would never forget him calling her sweetie. As much as she wanted to believe he had noticed her, she knew better. He just didn't see her. No one ever saw her until they wanted to pick on her.

"Are you ready?" Andrea asked and she nodded. They always ate the bagged lunch, no matter what they served because the line was always short and easy to get through. Some days she really wanted pizza, but she knew she would never be able to avoid the popular kids if she joined that line, so she made the sacrifice.

They hurried out and found their spot. All the classrooms had outside doors that were rarely used and they were recessed into the building leaving a small porch made out of brick. The one they sat by was hidden by overgrown bushes on both sides and they were usually left alone.

They opened up the novels they had to read for their English classes and ate their lunch in silence, only asking questions about things they did not understand, or to mention something that they thought would be on a test so they could scribble it down in their notebooks, but soon the social elite would be walking their circle in a large crowd and hopefully not stop to make their day hell.

Randy always distracted her when they passed. She would hear his voice sometimes and advert her eyes so she could see him when they went by. She loved the way he laughed and the way his tee shirt clung tight to his shoulders. He was so muscular and she often daydreamed about being in his strong arms and touching his large biceps. Once, she had seen him practicing on the football field after school and he had taken off his shirt. She closed her eyes and remembered how the sweat had dripped down his well-defined chest and perfect abs. It brought chills when the image popped into her mind.

"Well, look who's trying to hide." Allison, Brandy's best friend noticed them sitting in their alcove and the entire group stopped.

"Whatcha eating Frizzilla?" Brandy teased as she took a bite of her sandwich, trying hard to ignore the cheerleaders. "I bet you think you have a chance with my boyfriend since he talked to you." The entire group tackled and Teagan felt foolish that she had believed that the moment had gone unnoticed. Now, she would have to put up with the blonde's ridicule. "Onion breath! Onion breath!" The entire group began to taunt in unison and she lost her appetite. Randy wasn't with them and she was glad. It was embarrassing enough to have her taste in food thrown in her face and she feared she would never chose the condiment again, fearing a new nickname that was worse than the first.

"What's up?"

She felt sick. She could handle being embarrassed in front of anyone but Randy and he had to join his group. She wanted to cry as they kicked the book out of her hand and then his football buddy, Roman jerked the paper bag from beside her and stole her potato chips while another, John, did the same with Andrea's.

"Oh, did you want that?" He teased her.

"It's so hot today." Brandy complained. "This spot is so much cooler than the rest of the yard." And Teagan knew what was next. "Move." Their books and belongings were thrown out into the grass that was still wet from the sprinklers that were turned on early every morning.

"Yea! Don't let us catch you sitting in our spot again!" Roman called after them and the entire group laughed. It was horrible, but only words and she would easily get over it.

Gym. The last class of the day and then she would be free to go home, but even that made her stomach do flip flops, because she had no idea what she would go home to. Her father often screamed at her and she constantly had to look over her shoulder, terrified of what would trigger his temper.

She dressed in a pair of baggy sweat pants and sweatpants. It was one of two classes that she did not share with Andrea and she was on her own since all of the boys in the social elite shared the class with her. She hated that they had elected to take the class an extra year when they were only required to take it once in their entire four year stay. She was a freshman and had just barely turned fifteen, making her much younger than her other classmates because she had skipped her last year of middle school when she moved. She had been tested for placement and she wished she would have just been put in her regular grade, but knew her life probably wouldn't have been much different. She had never been popular. Every school was the same. She was always a target for bullies and she didn't think that would ever change.

However, she did look forward to gym. She loved the exercise she got out of the class. She loved the sports they played and was good at quite a few of them and – Randy was in that class. That day she sat on the bleachers watching as he and his friends took turns throwing a basketball at the hoop. They always gathered there as the waited for the class to begin. She stole glances with no one around to notice. His calves were toned beneath his shorts and he wore a sleeveless shirt that she would weave her hands under just to touch his bare back if he was hers.

"Alright class. Today we are playing volleyball. Boys - you want to set up the net?"

It was her favorite game, but she knew the rules. She stood in line with all the other students as Randy, Roman and John rolled the net to the center of the court and put them in place, then John and Randy were named as team captains who would choose their teams one by one. Her heart sunk. She was always chosen last and it particularly hurt when Randy was the one to make the last choice and pointed to someone else.

"Roman." An obvious first choice that everyone knew was coming. Randy and Roman were inseparable. Then John made his choice, then it was his turn again. "Red." He didn't know her name, but he pointed right at her and she was scared to take a step forward, afraid he had meant someone else and she would be humiliated when it was made clear.

"Are you serious?" Roman whispered to his friend, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Teagan, join your team." The coach yelled. "We only got an hour and fifteen folks, let's hurry." Slowly, Teagan took her place beside Randy and Roman, waiting for the obvious joke they had planned for her.

"She's good." She heard Randy tell his friend that still questioned his discussion. "You want to win that bet with John or not?" And that was the end of the discussion. Teagan was the best at the game, but she never thought that Randy had noticed.

Soon everyone had been picked and their team huddled together. She closed her eyes when Randy's arm fell around her shoulders and she barely heard anything he said.

"Alright guys. Let's give them hell." He smiled. His smile was so hypnotizing. "Red. Your serve." He tossed the ball to her and she went to her spot on the back of the court. She had a great serve and she wiped her mind clean. She didn't' care about anything else when she was playing. She was competitive, something she had never been able to shake, a flaw that would always send any boy who might have wanted to date fleeing.

She tossed the ball high in the air then struck it hard. It flew over the net and her team waited for the rebound, but it didn't come because the ball flew to the floor between their opponent's best players who could not send it back. Randy yelled and clapped his hands and the ball was thrown back to her. She again hit it, but they were ready for the force behind her serve, but it twisted when they connected and it took three of them to send it back over the net. She watched, never taking her eye off the ball, watching as Randy spiked it, sending it at a girl who screamed and covered her head, afraid she would be hit by the white sphere, but the next serve was knocked back and forth for a while until it finally was unreachable by Roman.

"You're good." Randy walked beside her when the game was ended and they headed to the locker rooms, but she couldn't speak. She kept her head down, letting her hair that had fallen loose hide her face. She still thought there was a joke coming and she walked faster hoping to ditch him and Roman before they could play it on her. "Seriously." He smiled. "Why aren't you on the school team?"

Teagan smiled weakly and then hurried into the locker room without giving them an answer. They would only laugh if she told them that she couldn't afford it and they would never believer her father wouldn't allow her to if they could and would accuse her of not attending practice so she could go off with some boy. It was always hard to take her father's accusations when no boy ever wanted to be seen with her.

"What's up with you and Frizzilla?" She heard Roman before she was out of ear shot.

"She can play. That's it. She's still the same nerd she was this morning." Randy laughed and her heart broke.


	3. Chapter 3

"Look out nerd!" Randy screamed at Andrea while they attempted to share kitchen chores after dinner. Rosa had quit after Patty had moved in, saying that she could finally move away to spend time with her grandkids since Randy had someone who could look out for him and it was one more thing that he blamed on Patty and Andrea. He could no longer have a party, at least night the kind he was used to having where he could sneak any girl he wanted upstairs with no one to stop him. With Patty around, he had to settle for sitting around the television and he couldn't come and go as he wanted because Patty wanted to know where he was going. He couldn't tell her it was none of his business because of his father's threats to cut him off and deactivate his credit card. He felt stuck living a demeaning life with strangers.

"Wow! That's real inventive for pea brain jock like you!" Andrea shot back, surprising him. He had never heard her speak above a whisper before and at school he had never heard her speak at all. "Did you think of that all by yourself?" As it turned out, Andrea was a sarcastic smart ass and as more of her personality emerged, he realized that his life was getting much more interesting.

Patty forced them to do chores that were usually alternated together in an effort to make them learn how to get along, but Randy knew that would never happen. He hated sharing a home with her. He couldn't invite his friends over because no one knew that she lived with him. He had told nobody that he had a connection with Fugly in any way and he wanted to keep it that way. Two and half years. That was all he had to get through, but Roman, John and especially Brandy often questioned him about why he never wanted to hang out at his house when they always had before. Brandy often screamed at him, accusing him of cheating on her, because he never wanted to take her home so they could be together. It was normal for him to get a girl alone in his bedroom before his father had gotten married. Now, he just took them to some back road and there wasn't much time in his schedule for when he belonged to a so called real family.

Andrea invaded everything. His attic room used to be his sanctuary but with her sharing the spare room, he would often come up and find her cuddled up on his sofa in front of his television.

"Hey! I was watching that!"

"Get over it Geek!" It was a rainy Saturday and he was sick of having nothing to do, so he snatched the remote out of her hand. Patty had tried hard to get them to get along, but so far she had only succeeded in getting them to sit through dinner without fussing, but they did not speak to each other either. It was a horrific life without much happiness and Randy imagined the woman would soon give up and divorce his father. Surely, the money was not worth the unhappiness she and her daughter lived with every day. He often believed that Patty was just waiting to be married to his father long enough to take a big chunk of what he had spent his life earning and then he would be free of both the females. Money never meant anything to him. He had always had plenty of it.

But he had to admit, the woman put on a good show, keeping her job at the truck stop so people would believe that she had married for love, but he knew better. He saw the way she looked through magazines, marking items she liked.

That night she was working a double shift, so there was no one around to supervise and keep him and Andrea from fighting. He knew his parents never imagined that the two teens would not get along, but they should have known better. They were from two different worlds. Randy was the star quarter back of the school and was well liked by his peers. His image and popularity were more important to him than his grades. He barely kept them up enough to stay on the team.

Andrea on the other hand was quiet and timid in school. She stayed to herself and only had made one friend and that had only happened recently. Randy found it odd that the girl who had attended with the same people since kindergarten had managed to stay isolated. She always had her nose buried in a book, which aggravated Randy. She was an honor roll student and her marks came easily. She loathed 'the in-crowd' that Randy cherished. She didn't care about the latest fashions or if she was wearing what the other girls wore. She was an individual and had no intentions of changing that fact and Randy believed that she wanted it that way. It's not like it was hard to fit in. Randy often belittled her, telling her she told herself that she didn't like newer clothes because she didn't have the body for the fashion. Andrea was on the heavy side and nothing she did helped her to lose the weight. She tried, but the more she would diet the more weight she seemed to gain, which Randy teased her about constantly when their parents were not around to hear.

Randy was sneaky and cruel. He knew how to pull the strings of both Bob and Patty. He had heard Patty tell her daughter that she didn't know why she couldn't get along with her step brother and it always brought a sly smile to his face and encouraged his bullying even more. "That is such a barbaric show." Andrea complained when he flipped it to wrestling.

"Hey, my dad is on that show," he defended.

"So, doesn't mean I have to like it. Don't you think there is enough fighting in this world? No, you men have to create more. You climb into a ring with people who I bet you don't even know."

"It's not like that. It's just entertainment. They don't really hurt each other, it's all planned out." he told her. "Look, that big guy is one of my dad's best friends. You've met him and seen them together. Do you really think this rivalry between them on the show is real?"

"But they still get hurt."

"Yes, things go wrong."

"And what for Randy?"

"It's a job. It's better than being a waitress." he instantly regretted his words.

"Oh so you think my mom's job is inferior to your dad's?" he knew he had touched on a subject that he did not want to get into with her.

"No, I didn't…."

"Well, let me tell you something, Randy. If my mother didn't sweat in that diner every day, you wouldn't be able to stay on the football team or parade around in your high priced clothes." "Your nuts, my dad never had a problem paying for this stuff before." He refused to believe it. She only wanted to wound him.

"Yeah, well I overheard them. Your dad lost a lot of money in some stock that he bought, and he is getting older and the company won't pay him like they used to."

Randy suddenly felt guilty for all his expenses. He had always been able to afford whatever he wanted his whole life. He knew that Andrea wasn't the type to lie and she had no reason to make something like that up.

"Why didn't they tell us?"

"They said they didn't want our lives to change. Your dad said he wanted us to enjoy high school and not worry about their financial problems."

"And Patty agreed."

"Oh course. My mom is crazy about your dad. She will do anything he asks her to do. I think she is nuts. I will never be like that. My mom never jumped up to run and do the bidding of any other man."

"Your mom? Come on my dad treats her like a queen." Randy told her. It was the first conversation they had had. "I can't see myself being that wrapped up in a woman that way."

Andrea laughed. They both seemed to agree that both their parents were nuts.

"I didn't realize how nosey you were, Andy." Randy teased with a new nickname, poking her side.

"I'm not, but I couldn't help but listen. It's really is a bad situation Randy."

"How bad?" Randy felt bad about all the money he had been taking. He had always asked for what he needed or wanted. The thought never accrued to him that they couldn't afford it anymore. It was something he never dreamed of.

"They might lose the house." she told him. "This place eats up two thirds of the monthly budget." Randy sighed and his head cleared for the first time. He remembered Patty's face when she had first walked into the home. He knew she had fallen in love with it and although she had been respectful and changed little in the home, the small changes had made the home feel warmer and it felt more like a home. In a moment he realized he had been selfish and spoiled. For the first time he saw himself as he truly was and he did not like himself.

"What can we do?"

"Prince Randy actually wants to help?"

"Hey I admit I'm a little spoiled…."

"A little?"

"Is it my fault I've been handed everything?"

"I guess not."

"Well I'm not asking your mom for any more money."

"How are you going to date without cash?"

"For your information I don't go out on that many dates anymore."

"Sure could have fooled me. I see you in school even though you don't see me."

"I see you."

"Sure you do."

"I can't help it if people surround me at school. I don't ask them to. And yes I see you. You have exactly one friend. If you would just try to talk to people I'm sure you would be surrounded by people too. Once they know you and I are related that will be easy."

"I don't want that. I want things to stay just the way they are."

"Why?"

"Think about it Randy. Out of all the kids that hang with you, how many of them could you call your true friend?" Randy knew she was right. He had a lot of friends, but most of them hung around because they thought it would boost their own popularity by knowing him.

"Well, Roman's the only one I just hang with outside of school." he shrugged.

"So you see, you only have one friend too."

He had never seen it that way.

"And how many of those kids will stick around if we have to move to a trailer park?" she asked bluntly.

"All of them as long as I'm the quarterback." he sighted. "But they would talk behind my back."

"See what I mean?"

"Strangely I do." he said. "You're not half bad Andy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that under all that know it all book smarts of yours, you're pretty cool."

"My dream come true, to be cool like you." He shoved her playfully and she shoved him back. From that day on they still picked at each other, but it was more in fun than it was to be mean.

They had united together because of their family's hardship. They found a new respect for each other's social being and now longer felt they were from different worlds.


	4. Chapter 4

Teagan sat by herself in the gym. It was a lazy day. Actually, the coach was having a lazy day and gave them a free period. She sat with a book in front of her face, watching the boys play a game of baseball which she thought a bad choice, but they had been smart enough to use a hollow whiffle ball and plastic bats.

Randy made her laugh several times, but she only watched him over the top of the book she only pretended to read. It was amazing that her crush on the quarterback had not faded even though she had heard him ridicule her behind her back. She knew she was probably the subject of his jokes and she thought that was worse than his friends who belittled to her face. Still, she could not take her eyes off of him.

"Come on, hit the ball!" he joked with Roman who could not connect with equipment that was too different from he was used or at least that had been the excuse he had uttered over and over. She laughed at how Randy gave him grief about each strike out. "Man, if you miss this time, I'm going to replace you."

"Really, Randy and who else are you going to play on your team. You're the worse team captain in history!" Roman shot back kiddingly.

"If you strike out, I'm going to replace you with Red!" Randy threatened and pointed her way, causing her grin. But she hid it behind the book. She loved the nickname only he called her while all his friends continued to call her Frizzilla, but she didn't want to let him know that she liked it, fearing he would revert back or think of something worse.

Ever since the day he had wanted her on his volleyball team, she had found more time to care about her appearance. Tying her hair back was no longer just a way to keep her unruly hair out of her eyes, but a way to make herself look better. She even taken some old make-up out of a bag her step-mother never used. It was hidden away under the sink in the very back of the cabinet and she was sure no one would ever remember what was in it since it had remained there over five years untouched. She would hurry into the bathroom every day the moment she stepped off the bus so she could apply the mauve lipstick and light mascara, careful not to put it on her eyes too thick, terrified she would not be able to wash it off at the end of the day.

Strike one, strike two. Her heart began to beat faster, wondering if Randy would really follow through with his threat of replacing his best friend with the nerdiest girl in class. Strike three.  
>"That's it!" Randy playfully harassed. "Red! You're up!" he called out while the rest of the kids that played laughed hysterically. She put down her book and pretended she was annoyed by his disruption, but then he started a chant and everyone joined in. She picked the book back up, thinking they would forget about her and the game would go on, but instead Randy jogged up to her. "Would you please play on my team, Red?" he begged on his knees, making Roman turn crimson with embarrassment and he was taunted because he was being replaced by her. "Please."<p>

"Fine." She growled and rolled her eyes. Slowly, she went joined him and he gave her a bat.

"Have you played before?" Randy asked her. It was nice. She was the subject of the teasing, but it was in a good way, something that had never happened to her before. She often wondered how Randy could be so nice to her when it came to sports, but be so mean when their paths crossed in other ways. However, she knew his demeanor would change, because she had never played baseball or softball and could only shake her head to answer his question. "Just stand like this." He directed her. "And hold the bat." He stood behind her and she closed her eyes as his arms encircled hers. He nuzzled his chin against her shoulder and whispered in her ear as his hands touched hers. Gently, he moved her arms, demonstrating how to swing. "Just watch the ball." He whispered and she thought she heard something in his voice, but she knew it was only wishful thinking. His lips grazed her cheek as he pulled away. "You got this Red."

She was nervous with everyone watching her, but she did not want to let Randy down. She couldn't after the show he had put on in front of all his friends. She felt self-conscious and wished she had worn the shorts she had stowed away in her locker. She had found them in the trash can at home. Her step mother had thrown them away, saying they were took small, and Teagan had snatched them when no one was looking. Shorts were another thing her father forbade her to have. Even when the summer days reached a hundred degrees, the man made her cover her legs and her arms just because she had scratched a mosquito bite when she was ten, but she knew it was because he noticed she was growing up and he did not want anyone to notice. She believed the man purposely wanted her to be unattractive because he did not want her to have a boyfriend. The way the man beat her when he thought she had done something to gain some man's attention should have been enough for her to hate the opposite sex and she was fearful of them, yet Randy still managed to take her breath.

She swung and missed the first pitch and she heard the girls giggle behind her. She took a deep breath and cleared her head, pushing her father and his overbearing rules out of her head. She did not want to let Randy down after the show he had put on. In a way, she would not only embarrass herself by striking out, but him as well and she knew he would not take that well.

The next ball came hurtling towards her, like John purposely put his entire arm into it just so she would fail. She gritted her teeth and put all her strength behind her swing and her calculations had been perfect. She connected and heard the loud pop and watched as the ball flew over the opposing teams heads.

"Run!" Randy encouraged and she took off for the first base and then headed to the second before it hit one of the high windows and bounced back. "Keep going!" he insisted as they scrambled to collect the object and before they could, she had made it back where she had started.

"Damn." Roman commented as she passed him to stand with the rest of the team.

"What did I tell you?" Randy put his arm about her shoulder. "Red, you are always on my team. I don't care what we are playing." He gave her a squeeze and she could only smile like an idiot, sure that everyone could see how much she was taken with him.

After school, after she had dressed in her street clothes and washed all her make-up off, she ran into Randy and his crew again and she was instantly horrified. She kept her head low hoping to pass the group that stood huddled and get on the bus before they noticed.

"Hey Red!" Roman called out and she froze, wishing she had kept her mascara on and took her father's beating when she arrived home. She cursed Roman drawing his friend's attention to her. "Come here, girl. I know you hear me." She had no choice but to turn around and face them. The cheerleaders they were with eyed her hatefully, but Randy gave her a smile. "Come over here." She slowly did as he asked, but mentally scolded herself for being stupid enough to walk into whatever trap they had planned. She looked at her shoes as she waited for his mean words, but instead he handed her a folded up slip of paper. She opened it gingerly, afraid something would jump out at her, then looked at him puzzled when she read the flyer for baseball try outs.

"I can't." She handed the paper back to him.

"Why not?"

She looked away, knowing how much they all would laugh if she told them she didn't have the money to join a real team, then she sighed sadly as she watched her bus drive off without her. She would have to walk all the way home and she would be in a lot of trouble. She didn't want the group to see her walking so she stood against the pillar and pretended to wait for her ride.

Soon, most of the group had left, but not after Brandy and her friends had spewed out hateful comments about her clothes.

"She looks like she slept in a trash can last night." Brandy said.

"She probably did." Ashley added. "And your boyfriend touched her. You better make him shower before he touches you. You might catch something."

"What?" Brandy looked at Randy then and placed a hand on her hip. "Why on Earth would you touch that trash?"

"I showed her how to bat a ball, Brandy." He growled and glared at Ashley.

"Oh, and I'm sure she loved it." Brandy walked up to Teagan and slapped her books to the ground. "You better keep dreaming Frizzilla, because that's all garbage like you can hope for."

"Leave her alone." Randy defended. "Geeze, you're a spoiled witch."

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, Brandy. What do you really have against her other than the fact that she's poor?"

"Even poor people know how to bathe."

"You know I never realized how much of a spoiled witch you are." And Brandy's mouth dropped open.

"I don't think I need you to take me home, Randy. It'll give you some time to come up with a way to apologize and you better make it a good one because that's the only way I'll take you back."

Randy let out a deep breath, then put his hands his pocket. He watched the cheerleader walk away then he turned her way.

"I'm really sorry about my friends."

"It's not your fault." She said meekly, then she started to walk toward her home.

"Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'm fine." She insisted. "I'm not that far away."

"Where do you live?"

She wished she could lie, but the truth popped out automatically. It always did.

"That is half way across town." He laughed. "But it's not out of my way."

"I'm fine." She insisted and hurried to get away from him.

"Red, I swear. I'm not going to pull any pranks on you." He laughed. "It's just a ride." She gave in wanting to spend some time with him even though she knew it would cause her problems.

Randy played heavy metal softly while they went through town, but they didn't speak. She knew she had nothing in common with him and she was embarrassed when he caught her staring at him. For a moment she had a glimpse of what it would be like to be his girl, riding with him every day. She closed stared out the window and daydreamed of him leaning over the seat and kissing her good bye. She imagined his steel blue eyes staring after her longingly every time she left his company, but that was only a dream. He was nice to her then, but she knew things would be different when the Christmas break was over. It had been the last day of school for almost a month and she guessed he would put up with a lot of crap from his friends during that time and would be his normal self when school returned. He would be just like the friends he hung out with.

"Let me out here." She told him when they reached a store that was at the end of the road she lived on.

"I can take you to your door."

"No, you can't." she almost screamed. "I'm fine here.

"Okay, see you at school."

"Thanks." She almost ran away, terrified he would follow out of curiosity just so he could see the shack she lived in. Her home was embarrassing, an old trailer that had once been burned that sat on top of a hill just in front of a large hole. A basement that had been dug for a home that was never built. The left over dirt stood as a mountain on the side of the trailer and the field on the other side was completely over grown, but it was the piles of trash her father burned once in a while that made it worse. Yet, that was not her worry.

"Your home early." Her step- mother jumped when she walked through the door, hiding the mirror and blade she had been snorting her drugs off of. She was angry that Teagan had interrupted her, but the girl already knew about the woman's cocaine addiction. It was her father's as well besides the whiskey and beer he constantly guzzled. She went straight to her room and laid down on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about Randy, wishing she lived with her mother so she could enjoy the rare happy event.

"Who were you with today!" it was the middle of the night when her father burst through her door, scaring her awake. She didn't even have a chance to answer him, only able to let out a stutter before he called her a liar and ripped her from the bed using a handful of her long hair. His belt was already in his hand and he struck her with it with all his might. Her father was a large man, standing six four and weighting nearly three hundred pounds. He had a temper and saw things his own way no matter what the truth and he rarely listened to her explanations. He was a cruel man and had hated that he had been given a daughter instead of a son. He had never wanted her but fought for custody anyway just to hurt her mother even though he had been the one to cheat then kick her out so he could move in his new girlfriend.

Her father screamed at her and whipped her even after she had fallen to her knees.

"Arnie saw you get out some red sports car today!" he bellowed. "How long have you been sneaking off with that boy after school! How long!" he yelled and wielded his weapon, each strike stung her skin beneath her thin night gown until his arm became tired. "I've had enough of dealing with this." He then said calmly. "Pack your shit. You want to be a whore, you can go live with one."

She sobbed uncontrollably as put what little she owned into a trash bag with her step mother constantly watching everything she packed to make sure she took nothing that belonged to her, not that she would want any of the trashy clothes the woman wore. The woman went on and on in a fake, sickeningly sweet voice, about how much Teagan brought her punishments on herself. Telling her how she always lied and always did things she knew she wasn't allowed to do. But Teagan did not cry because she was being sent away. That was the only good thing to come out of the situation and she only sobbed because she was in a tremendous amount of pain. Her father had beaten her badly before, but this time was the worst. Her wrist ached and her hand was swollen, making her wish she had not attempted to use it to protect herself.

Her father did not speak to her until they had reached her mother's home and she held her breath as he constantly ran off the road, taking out a few mailboxes as they made their way. Her mother in a nice neighborhood. It was a small home, an old home located in a mill hill, but it was much nicer than the run down, almost condemned homes her father stayed and it had been nearly two years since he had allowed her to visit. As they grew closer, she felt sick, terrified her father change his mind and turn around. She feared her father had found another way to torment her and planned to pull in the driveway, then take her back to suffer more of his abuse.

But he must have grown tired of the responsibility that came with being a parent for he stopped at the end of the road her mother lived on, threw out the one bag that she had packed and made her get out.

"You seem to like walking from the end of the road." He growled and then sped off, leaving her in a secluded, dark area with no streetlights and no flashlight to light her way. When they had left her father's the clock had said it was nearly two in the morning and her mother lived twenty minutes away and at the other end of the road in which he had dropped her. It was a long road and she was scared as she took each step, fearing every time she saw headlights that the driver of the approaching car would snatch her from the road. She walked as fast as she could with her injuries, but each step hurt. Her back, her legs, her arms, everything made her want to scream and she cried harder, both from pain and fear. When she reached her mother's, she found the home dark with no cars in the drive way. She knocked on the door, but it was silent. No lights came on and as she rounded the back of the house so she could knock on her mother's bedroom window, she found the windows were bare. No curtains and the yard was overgrown. She had walked to a vacant home.


	5. Chapter 5

Three weeks before Christmas break, Randy's father and Patty sat down with both him and Andy to explain their situation.

"Kids, we need to talk to you." Bob had just returned from his road trip and wasted no time. They followed him into the living room, sat and listened as he began to tell them what they already knew. He had a defeated look on his face that Randy could not remember him ever having. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." he choked. His wife walked over and held his hand. "I made some pretty bad decisions and I'm afraid that we are going to have to move."

Randy was horrified. Even though he had learned of their predicament, he had never thought that their problems would get bad enough for them to actually have to give up the home.

"But Dad, you still have wrestling. You'll be able to save the money back up in no time." Bob shook his head.

"No, son, I no longer work for them. My contract is up and they told me they will not renew it. This next trip will be my last."

"Why?" Randy could not understand. His dad had been one of the best for so many years.

"I'm getting older Randy; I can't keep up with the younger generation anymore. I can't do all of those high flying moves and that's what the fans want now. The business is changing and I'm afraid I don't have what it takes to change with it." Randy could tell his father was heartbroken. Wrestling had been his whole life. Randy had often thought it was more important than he was to him

But he found a new respect for Patty that day. She stayed by his father's side through the whole ordeal, proving that she was no gold digger.

"Don't worry Dad." Randy consoled. "You still have what is worth the most."

"I know. I have my family." His father said. "And I know that this is a big change for you, son, but the place I rented is decent. It's small, but clean. It has a big fenced in yard and you won't have switch schools."

Randy knew that Andy would adapt easily, but he had never lived in a small home and he was really shocked when they pulled into the drive way of their new home two weeks later.

"Shit." Randy had said to himself when they pulled the moving van in front of the house with old wooden siding. He had followed his father in his red sports car expecting a smaller place, but didn't realize it would be in such a poor neighborhood. He took a deep breath and got out of the car. He put up no objection as he helped unload the truck. He would make the best of it. He knew it wouldn't last long. His father would find a way to get them back on top again.

Randy knew he surprised everyone by not acting bitter about the move and he was content in his small room. By the time school was out for the holiday, Patty had made the place look amazing. They still owned a lot of their expensive furniture and things and it looked great in the new place.

"This place is still pretty big compared to the places me and mom lived in before." Andrea told him as they were folding laundry one day. "This would have been a dream for us a year ago."

"Really?"

"This place has four bedrooms and two living rooms." she went on. "Randy I know it may not seem like it to you, but this place is still pretty wonderful." Some of the rooms in the home were additions and it had obviously been renovated. The kitchen was modern and the walls were freshly painted. The only thing that he believed was original was the hard wood floors that covered the entire floor plan.

"I agree with you." She looked up at him, obviously shocked by his answer. "Andy, to be honest with you, I may have had that big house all my life, but I have never had a family before. My dad is here every night now. If I had a choice I would not move back, because I know it would mean that my dad would be on the road all the time again." Randy enjoyed the family nights. His father came to all his games and even threw the ball around in the back yard with him. It was a different life, but one he would not change for anything in the world. He knew he would have envied his poor peers before if he had realized how much they had that he didn't.

"I wouldn't know how that is. My mom has always been around." Andy continued to talk. She was more at ease in those days and they acted like true siblings. "I am enjoying having a dad though."

"What about your real dad? Don't you ever see him?" He asked.

"Sometimes, when he feels like being a father. He will show up with a bunch of gifts. It's just his way to ease his guilty conscience. He will stay a few hours and promise to pick me up and take me to dinner the next day."

"Sounds like fun."

"It does sound fun. I will let you know if he ever shows up." Andy shrugged. "What about your mom?"

"I don't remember her at all. Patty is the only mother I have ever really known."

"Tomorrow is the first day of Christmas break. What are you planning to do?"

"Hang around, read some books. I don't know."

"Why don't we see if we can have some friends stay over this weekend? We can sit around and watch movies and eat popcorn until we pop." Randy suggested.

"You mean you would actually want your friends to visit you here. I thought you were trying to hide this and me from your friends?"

"Screw it. I miss having sleep overs. Roman won't care anyway." Randy had already cornered him and insisted to know why he never invited him over anymore. Randy had always preferred to hang around his own home and suddenly he wanted to stay with him instead.

"I guess I could ask Teagan."

"Oh, yeah, you and Red are friends."

"Really? You're going to make fun of her right in front of me?"

"I'm not making fun of her. She's in my gym class. I've never known a girl that could hit the hell out of a ball like she can."

"I wouldn't know. We only study together. We're not really that close."

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to let someone get close to you." Randy had noticed that she kept a safe distance from everyone in her life, except her mother. She wouldn't let herself get close to Randy or his dad. He had thought Teagan was her best friend and he had tried to be nice to her out of respect for his new sister, but as he thought about it, he realized that Andy only talked to the girl on the phone about school work, but never about anything else and they never hung out together to do anything but school work.

"I'm not scared to get close to anyone."

"Bull. I see you in school. You two sit in the hall and study notes. Take a break and talk about other things." he encouraged. "I gave her a ride home today and I can honestly say she's someone your mom will approve of." They both laughed, because Patty had stated several times that she thought Roman was trouble and that Randy needed to be careful hanging around with him.

"I told you I don't want your lifestyle, Randy."

"I am not asking you to, but it wouldn't kill you to have one friend. Ask her over this weekend. You will see how much fun it is to hang out."

"I would rather spend Friday night reading by myself Randy. But I'm not stopping you from having someone over here."

"You couldn't if you tried."

He knew it was social suicide to have both the girls his crowd called the nerd twins hanging around his home, but he wanted Andy to feel comfortable. She saw her as his sister and it was time to stop hiding it. His friends would just have to accept it, but he didn't know if he would be able to let them know that he didn't mind her living with him. He still liked the life he led in school. His popularity meant a lot to him and he didn't think he could give up. He had a temper and he knew he would not take bullying the way Andy did.

He did think about the girl he had taken home. It puzzled him why she wouldn't let him take her to her door, but he shrugged it off, believing that she was embarrassed by where she lived. A year before, he would have never let someone like her in his car. He would have never spoken to her fearing someone would tease him about it, but in his second year, he had pretty much made a name for himself. He set the pace for everyone else to follow and he could get away with a little more. At first, he only wanted to use her for her athletic ability and would never be nice to her outside of gym for the same reasons, but after landing in his new middle class life, he started to view things differently and he found he could sympathize with people like Teagan more. He had a feeling that she was worse off than he was and he was thankful, so thankful that they had not fallen lower they had.

He laid on his bed watching television that night, still wondering what the red head's life was like and then he wondered why he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was not the type of girl someone with his social standing should be thinking about, but she had incredible blue green eyes. They were big and sparkled when she smiled and he just couldn't get them off his mind. Sure she usually wore baggy clothes and her jeans always had holes in the knees. Her shirts were dingy and worn and she was probably a little chubby beneath them, but she was sweet and kind. The girl had every right to be hateful to him because of the way he had treated her since she had moved to the school, but she was still nice to him.

Brandy had never stayed on his mind as long as Teagan. He had never gave her a second thought after he had left her company and that was when he remembered he was supposed to call her to apologize for something he wasn't sorry about. He was stuck with her kind, he guessed.

He ventured out into the living room to get the phone he would have to share with Andy and almost ran into his father who was heading out of his room with a flashlight.

"Where are you going, Dad?"

"I saw someone poking around at the house next door." He said. The place next door was supposed to be vacant and Randy wondered if the neighborhood was really as safe as his father had believed.

"I'll come with you." He slipped on his tennis shoes that he had kicked off by the couch and grabbed the phone, putting off the middle of the night phone call to his now ex-girlfriend's cell in case they needed to call the police.

"Fine, just stay behind me." His father was still protective over him, even though he had grown an inch taller, but he didn't make him stay behind, knowing that Randy had no problem defending himself.

They ventured off their front stoop and crossed their wide front yard. Randy guessed that there had once been another house between theirs and the vacant home, because the space between the yards was much bigger than the other homes and the road. Now the land was split between the two homes.

His father moved his flashlight so the light shined on the front porch of the home and he had been right. Someone had been messing around and whoever it was had laid fallen asleep against metal railing of the steps.

"Hey!" His father yelled, making the stranger jump. "What are you doing messing around here?" he sounded harsh, hateful, but as the light illuminated the face, Randy's mouth dropped.

"Red?" He moved past his father, recognizing the long wild curls of the girl he had given a ride to nearly twelve hours earlier. He knelt down in front of her and touched her shoulder. She cried out.

"Do you know her?"

"She goes to my school." He told his father.

"Well, we better get her in the house. It's too cold to talk about this out here." The temperature had dropped considerably during the night and it the predictions of snow had already begun to come true. He was already feeling the chill from leaving the warmth of his home with a shirt and he did not know how long Teagan had been out in the storm. She wore no jacket. Only the same worn out sweatshirt she always wore. He picked up the trash bag that sat on the porch beside her and his father took her hand, insisting that she come with them even though she protested.

Randy didn't believe that Teagan recognized him until they stepped inside his home and turned on the living room light. Her eyes widened with shock, but she was too cold to gasp. Yet, Randy was the one who was more shocked to see her swollen hand, her bruised cheek and her eyes – her beautiful eyes were red and swollen.

"I'm going to wake up Andy," And he hurried away, walking into his step sister room without worrying about knocking. Andy was curled up in a ball, hugging her pillow and he hated to wake her when he knew she wasn't that close to Teagan, but she was still the closest thing to a friend the girl had. "Andy," he gently shook her arm. "Andy, wake up."

"What Randy?" she impatiently spat.

"Teagan's here."

"Are you high?"

"Seriously, Teagan's here and she's hurt." Surprisingly, Andy flew from the bed, showing more concern for her acquaintance then he believed she even knew.

"Tea? What's wrong?" Randy stood behind the sofa that sat in the middle of his parent's living room, the one they had reserved for company, so Teagan would feel more comfortable and listened.

"It's nothing." He didn't think she meant to lie, she just seemed scared or embarrassed to talk about it. "I was just coming to see my mother."

"No one lives in the house next door." His father informed her. "I guess we better call the police so they can figure this out." And that made her cry hysterically.

"No, please. They'll make me go back and I can't go back."

"What's going on?" Patty came out of the bedroom, pulling robe around her and her husband quickly brought her up to speed. "She's soaked. Randy go find a blanket please." She said sweetly and sat down beside Teagan. "Come on sweetie, take off this sweatshirt. You're freezing."

Randy gasped when he returned. Teagan wore a thin white nightgown beneath her sweatshirt and he could see her bare back beneath the wet material and every part of it appeared black and blue. Someone had beaten her and it angered him when he should have felt pity. He didn't understand why he wanted felt the way he did, it made no sense.

"Please don't call the cops." She begged and begged while Patty tried to explain why they had to.

"Little girl, you are going to have to tell us why you don't want us to call the authorities or we have no choice. If you ran away, we could be in a lot of trouble if we don't."

Teagan hesitated and her eyes fell on Randy, then back to her lap.

"Randy, can you go to your room for a while." Patty asked him and he obeyed, but kept his door open so he could listen. Teagan must have been uncomfortable around him and he didn't blame her. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear much because his room was so far away, but whatever it was had been enough to convince his parents to let her stay the night.

"Andy?" he asked his sister when she passed him. "What's going on?"

"She's staying the night." Andy said. "She's staying in my room, so you can stop worrying about your reputation."

"I don't give a damn about that. What happened to her?"

"Her dad kicked her out and dropped her off at the end of the road. She didn't know that her mother moved. Bob's going to try and find out where she moved to tomorrow."

But Randy knew that there was much more to it then Andy would tell him.


	6. Chapter 6

It must have been a dream. She wished that Randy finding her sitting on the vacant home's front stoop had been, but she knew that part had happened, but what she saw when she opened her eyes had to have been a figment of her imagination. She did not know how long she had been asleep on her friend's sofa, but she did know that she had sleepily opened her eyes and saw Randy, squatted down in front of her, staring sympathetically and he gently touchd her cheek, swiping a stray strand of hair away. That could not of happened.

Laying still had caused her battered body to grow stiff and even though she knew it was rude of her to sleep on a stranger's sofa all day, she just could not bring herself to get up. The flannel nightgown Andrea had given her felt so comfortable even though it only covered her to her mid thigh, but the material was the softest she had ever adorned and the comforter Patty had laid upon her was so warm that she only wanted to cuddle the pillow beneath it. She could not remember a time she had slept so peacefully and so deeply without worrying about someone jerking her to her feet.

Teh beating her father had delivered had lingered and every move made her moan. It took a lot not to scream out, but she had to, terrified that Andrea's parents would carry her to the hospital. There would be too many questions and social services would be called. She had already dealt with the institution before and knew they would offer her no help. It would be just like it had been when she six. Her mother had desperately taken her to them, showing them bruises and making her tell exactly what kind of life she lived, but all they did was make her return to her father's home and after one meeting with the social worker, her father had managed to convince them that he had done nothing wrong, even made her lie and say she had fallen. What other choice did a threatened child have?

"Hey," Andrea gently touched her arm. "You really need to eat something." The night before was the first time they had talked about anything besides school work.

"I'm not hungry." She winced as she pulled herself into a sitting position and was completely embarrassed when she realized that Randy was sitting in the chair directly in front of her. "I really should get going. I've been in your way long enough."

"There's four feet of snow outside." Andrea chuckled. "Come on Tea, it's almost dark."

"I slept all day?" she gasped. "I'm so sorry."

"No one cares about that." Patty, Andrea's mother came into the room with a large first aid box and sat on the sofa beside her. "Let's see that hand." Before long, she had fit it with a brace that covered her hand, wrist and part of her upper arm. It did make it feel better. "That's probably all a doctor can do for it right now, but you need to get an xray soon. Bob's went to visit our landlord. He thinks he owns the house next door too and he might know where your mother moved."

"I really don't want to be an incovience to anyone." she kept her head down, wishing that Randy was not staring at her. She feared that the entire school would know about her abandoment before winter break was over and she would go back to even more teasing then before. She could already imagine the new jokes the kids would make about her homeless state. Still, she didn't care. She had no problem llivng on the streets. It was much better than dealign with her father and stepmother's physical and mental abuse. She was free. Finally, it was over.

A knock on the door made Patty hurry out of the room.

"Let's go to my room for a while." Andrea offered.

"Okay," and they started for the room.

"Yeah, she's here and this is where she is going to stay." Patty had been soft spoken up until she greeted the guest at the door.

"Excuse me?"

Teagan froze and she started to shake. The deep tone of her father's voice instantly instilled terrified her.

"Come on, Tea." Andrea encouraged her to go into her bedroom, but she left the door open so they could hear.

"You heard me. Now get off my property."

But what could anyone do? The man owned her, atleast until she was eighteen and she had a feelign he would try to hold onto her then as well.

"Lady, that is my kid and you have no right to keep her from me."

"Oh, we have every right. You sent abandoned your child and made her walk nearly a mile in the middle of the night and in the dark. Anything could have happened to that girl."

"Give me my daughter or I will call the cops. What you are doing is a crime. You have pretty much kidnapped her!"

"Go ahead. Call the cops. Someone needs to see that that child is bruised from her neck to her ankles. One big bruise. What the hell gives you the right to hit anyone that many times and that hard!" Patty yelled, but her father pushed past her and invaded their home. He looked like a mad man, stomping through the home, shoving doors open and gazing from side to side, then his wild eyes fell on his daughter. He seemed to take one long stride across Andrea's room and his large hand struck, knocking her to the floor, then he snatched a handful of her long hair, jerked her to her feet and dragged her through the home. Patty screamed at him to let her go, but the small woman was helpless to do anything to stop the large man. He pulled her out the door, still wearing nothing but Andrea's gown. She was barefooted and lost her balance several times as he yanked on her. Not only was she in pain, but she was embarrassed as well. Especially when she caught site of Randy out of the corner of her eye.

He was the last person she thought would defend her, especially against her father, but he did. He crossed the yard and threw his fist at the wild eyed man, surprising him and he fell flat on his back, shocked that a kid could put him in his place.

Randy didn't say anything. He only stood over his victim with his fist clenched for a moment and Patty helped her to her feet, put her arm about her shoulders and escorted her back inside and Randy locked the door behind them.

"I can't believe I put your family in the middle of this." Teagan cried on her friend's shoulder in the safety of Andrea's bedroom.

"Like you knew we lived here." Andrea laughed. "Everything happens for a reason, Tea. I've been around you almost everyday since September and no one can tell me you did anything to deserve what your father did to you and I know this isn't the first time."

"I'm always in trouble. I try to be good, but I keep -"

"You're quiet. You never bother anyone. You can't convince me that you deserve to be beaten."

"I broke his rules."

"So what? I've broken my parent's rules and they don't leave me bruised and bleeding. It's not normal and you deserve to know that."

"There's not much I can do about it." Teagan shrugged. "He has custody and this isn't going to do anything but make him madder."


	7. Chapter 7

Randy paced his room. Back and forth over the wooden floor, he fumed. He was so angry, so upset. Each step he took, each time he pictured the bruises on Teagan, each time he thought of the abuse he witnessed, it angered him even more. He could not make the crush he had developed go away. He knew that's what it was. He knew it, but he could not understand it. The girl had never flirted with him, never done one thing to try to get his attention. She played no games to win his heart. She had done absolutely nothing and he never noticed girls until they had gone out of their way trying to get his attention. And here he was throwing punches at a complete stranger just so he wouldn't take Teagan away from him. That was what he thought the moment he had seen Teagan's father dragging her across the front yard – he was taken her away and worse, he knew he would have done the same thing if it had been some guy at school just talking to her.

He could not figure it out. He had never been aggressive. He had never been violent. For some reason he didn't even think, he just punched Teagan's father square in the jaw. Now he felt like an enraged caged animal. He wanted to hit him again and again. He wanted to hurt him, to tear him apart with his bare hands and he could not calm down no matter what he did.

"Are you okay?" He threw up his hand up as he headed for the front door. The best thing about moving was that his best friend lived across the street and Roman had a heavy punching bag hanging in his garage.

"What's up with you?" Roman asked the minute Randy knocked on the door.

"I don't want to talk about it. Can I use your gym?" Roman's parents had given him the small space above their one car garage to do whatever he wanted with it. It wasn't very big and he believed that the original owners had built it for an office or storage, but it was a great place for Roman to set up the equipment that he loved. He was addicted to working out and lifting weights and his collection equaled the schools.

Roman took turned on his radio and blasted a hard rock radio station, then stepped on his treadmill, letting Randy work out his frustrations on the punching bag that he punched as hard as he could over and over again until his hands hurt, then he went to the weight bench and lifted his normal amount. He liked Roman's bench that required no one to spot him and after an hour he felt more like himself, but he still could not make sense of the way he felt about Teagan. The way he thought about her had been so instant.

"Warm cookies." Roman's stepmother was amazing, but she only baked when she was upset. Roman said it was because of her daughter, who she had not seen in a while. Randy felt sorry for her, knowing how hard it had to be for a parent not to know where her child was. "You boys don't overdue it, okay?"

"We won't mom." Roman did not hesitate to call Diane Mom. He loved her as much as he would have his own mother and had known her longer. She had married his dad when he was in middle school, and had won the boy over instantly, something that was very hard to do. Roman usually despised everyone. He was suspicious of everyone and did not let too many people close.

"It's been nearly three years since her ex allowed her to see her kid."

"I thought you said you never met her?"

"I haven't. The jerk won't let her spend the night. She never said it in front of me, but I heard her tell dad once that it's because of me." Does he think she can't handle taking care of two kids? People do it all the time."

"No, it was because I'm a boy and he thinks that me and her would do stuff. That's ridiculous. Two years go I was barely thinking about girls like that and I damn sure wasn't when she married my dad. I felt guilty when I first heard it because it's because of me, but then Diane said that the guy was only using it as another excuse to keep her kid from her."

"Why doesn't she just get a lawyer?"

"I think she's scared of the guy. He beat her when they were married and he threatened her. She was too scared to show up at their divorce hearing."

"He must be a scary guy. He would have to be to keep a woman from fighting for her child."

"Diane's a sweetheart, but she's not that strong. She lets people push her around and doesn't even say a word to defend herself. She's got a tender heart and sometimes I wish I could be her backbone for her."

"So, you've never met your stepsister?"

"Nope. Diane won't even hang up her pictures because she just cries when she sees them, but I bet Katie is just like her." He laughed. "which means if she were living here, I would be fighting all the time."

"No you wouldn't."

"Come on, Diane's pretty. Katie probably is too and if she's as docile, I would have to take up for her." "I'm starting to feel that way about Andy."

"I still can't believe you kept it a secret that her mom married your dad and that you were moving. I don't think you would have ever told me if I didn't see your dad looking at that house."

"I'm sorry." Randy laughed. "You know how our friends are, but I don't think I can put up with you guys messing with her anymore."

"I kind of feel bad about all the stuff I've done and said all this time, but it's what we've always done."

"It's childish." Randy shrugged. "And I'm getting sick of the bullshit. I just don't think it's funny and honestly, I've felt that way long before Andy became my sister."

"Growing up really sucks." Roman laughed. "But I feel you man. I only picked on the nerd twins for laughs anyway. It's always been expected. It's always been them or us.

"How come nobody ever told us that we would be constantly judged in school every single day. It's like if you're nice to someone your friends don't like, then they are all over you."

"it's just high school. It won't matter once we graduate. I'm just riding it out, playing the game until it's over."

"I'm just worried I may not be able to keep playing along with Brandy and the others."

"Just two more years."

"You want to hang out tonight?"

"Sure. Your house or mine?"

"Mine. Bob and Patty are supposed to have a date night and they are usually out late."

"cool."

"I might need your help."

"Anytime. What's the problem?"

"You'll know if it comes up."

"Dude, you're starting to scare me." Roman laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

"Red!" Roman greeted her the moment he stepped into the home with a small overnight bag in his hand. "What's up girl? Randy didn't tell me we were having a party?"

Teagan had yet to get used to the new way Roman talked to her. She still stared at him with suspicious eyes, waiting for his hidden objective. "I'm still freaking about that ball you hit. I'm going to pester the hell out of you until you agree to show up at try outs."

Teagan laughed. She couldn't help it. Roman wasn't a bad guy, he just hung out with the wrong people. Still, he was part of the social elite and she knew he would not act cordial toward her in front of the rest of his friends.

Randy sat down in the chair, and she held her breath. Roman didn't seem to know what had happened to her and she was grateful for both his desecration and the way he had stood up to her father. It did nothing to clear him from her mind. She did not know why the boy who she had considered one of her bullies kept doing things that made her think he might feel the same way, but she didn't dare let her heart believe it because he would only prove it wrong.

"Okay kids, you can rent a couple movies, but don't go crazy and that kitchen better look exactly like it does now when we get back." Bob ordered with a smile. Teagan was amazed at the way they trusted their children. Her father would have never allowed her to be alone with two boys that were not blood related. Hell, once he had even accused her of doing unspeakable things were her own cousin and she could not think of what she could have done to make her own father think she was so terrible. She had yet to be kissed and he constantly accused her of throwing herself at any man. He thought his own daughter was a whore and it hurt so much and sometimes made her want to do the things he accused her of, because she knew it did not matter how decent she was. He would never see her that way.

She and Andrea laid blankets on the floor and settled on their stomachs to watch an old action movie that Randy was crazy about. "We can rent anything we want from pay per view and you want to watch something you have seen a hundred times." Andrea complained.

"It's the best movie we own and I didn't see anything better listed. You can choose the next one Andy." And to her surprise, he flopped down between on the blanket right beside her. "Scoot over, Red." And he made her laugh by playfully moving closer and closer, giving her Andrea no choice but to inch closer to the edge so he and Roman could share their blanket.

"Man, why'd you do that? Their going to pick some chick flick."

"They'll probably fall asleep before this one ends." Randy joked. "Good girls don't stay up all night like us normal people."

"Normal people?" Andrea spat. "There is nothing normal about you, Randal."

"She's got a point." Roman agreed, causing Randy to hit them both with a pillow, causing an instant fight to break out and Teagan was caught in the middle and it was only a matter of time before he accidentally struck her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." he apologized with a smile, the laugh he tried to contained spilling out of his lips in short spits. Teagan picked up her pillow and slung it at him and he fell over as if she had knocked him out, but she didn't take him seriously and climbed on her knees and so she could hit him again. They were all laughing then, taking swings at Randy who was outnumbered and had to reach out and grab Teagan, making her fall on top of him so he could playfully use her as a shield. It felt so good to laugh with friends. She had never been able to experience it before and even though her back still hurt, she ignored it, not wanting them to stop. She didn't want Randy to let go. His hands felt so good touching her shoulders and then circling her waist.

"I'm hungry," Andrea interrupted, declaring a truce and putting down her pillow. "Mom said there were some frozen pizza's."

"that sounds like women's work to me." Randy sounded serious and put his hands behind his head. Andrea hit him in the face with her pillow, leaving it behind and he laughed hysterically.

"Hey, I have an idea."

"Oh, no. Run Teagan. He's dangerous when he thinks." Andrea grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly away from the guys.

"You never told me that Randy was your stepbrother." Teagan told her friend while they rummaged through the deep freezer for the pizza. "I didn't think it was interesting news. Actually, until recently, it was horrible." She shrugged. "But tonight is fun. This is the first time we have had friends over since our parents were married."

"Wow. I can't believe Randy didn't tell Roman."

"Ladies." Roman walked in and leaned against the counter and Randy joined him. They both contained to mock old fashioned values.

"Don't forget, I like mushrooms on my pie." Randy teased.

"Ugh! You're eating that all by yourself, Randy."

"I like mushrooms." Teagan meekly added.

"Alright. A girl with some taste." he smiled. "Anyway, about this idea."

"He had to bring the bomb with him." Andrea rolled her eyes.

"no, it's good. You see Roman and I have a little nerdy secret of our own and we were talking and were thinking that we might bring you two into it."

"Did he just call us nerds?" Teagan raised her eyebrows.

"No." Randy retracted. "Listen, you two have to swear you will keep this a secret. You can laugh and tease us all you want, but just keep it between the four of us."


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay, so what is it you needed my help with?" Roman asked after the girls had went to the kitchen. Randy grinned menacingly.

"I want you to keep my sister – um – occupied for a while."

"Okay? What? Are you planning on sneaking out to see Brandy – or are you sneaking her in?"

"Hell no." Randy laughed. "I want to get with Red."

"Red?" Roman burst out. "Are you kidding?"

"Forget it. I wish I never told you."

"No – no, man. I'm sorry. I just don't get it."

"She's a cherry, dude. You know how that is."

"She's your sister's best friend. It's a bad idea. Besides, she's not that type of girl. You'll never get it from her."

"You want to bet money on that?" Randy pulled a notebook from under the sofa and opened it.

"You stole her diary?" Roman exclaimed after reading a few pages that were about Randy including one that Teagan had wrote that said she thought it would be amazing if Randy was her first. Then Randy pulled a rolled up object from his pocket. "I think it would be really easy."

"Alright. I'll keep an eye out for your parents. You know, Andy's lost some weight."

"So?"

"So, she's kind of hot especially when she's wearing something other than that oversized hoodie like she is tonight. I thought about asking her out."

"Roman, we made a pact about dating each others family. I didn't give in when you wanted to date my cousin, what makes you think I would drop that rule with Andy?"

"I was just saying. Besides, it would be social suicide to date either one of them. You really need to remember that. I know you said you're tired of the crap, but I'm not willing to go through I hell for the next two years. I don't want to go through what they do. They are cool girls, but I can't go back to being bullied. I rather be the bully than go through what I did in middle school all over again. You've never been bullied, you don't know."

"I've been bullied." Randy admitted. "Actually, I've survived some pretty awful teasing, but it doesn't matter what the social elite think because they won't know about it. I just can't shake this thing. I want her."

"Until you've had her. You always do this and then you loose interest once you've slept with them."

"Well, that's what this is for." he said holding up the joint. "It will be easy to blame it on the weed and it will never be anything more."

The girls had just started cooking the pizza and they joked with them. Teagan didn't make it easier for him by revealing yet another thing they had in common and soon, he formulated an idea that would make her comfortable.

"We like to role-play." he lied about something he knew a lot of the nerdy boys in school did. "Silly stuff like we did when we were little, but we never had girls around before and we were thinking we could play something different."

"Like what?" They hadn't laughed at him and they didn't seem to find anything strange about their admission.

"Want to play house?" Roman arched his eyebrows and gave Andrea a sideways grin.

"Okay, now I think you two are crazy." Andrea shook her head and opened the oven so she could sprinkle on some extra cheese.

"We're not kidding and we're not setting you up for anything." Roman promised "So, why don't you two go borrow something from your mama's closet." And Randy caught his eyes scanning his sister and he gave him a slight elbow to remind him of their agreement.

"fine." Andrea always liked to call their bluff, but Teagan appeared pale, her eyes wide and stunned. "But I don't need mom's clothes. Watch the food."

Randy could not believe they were playing along. It was perfect and he knew that Teagan was in a vulnerable place which would only aid him. He was convinced it was the only way he would get her out of his mind because he was tired of feeling sick every time he thought of her. She was not out of his reach and once he proved it, he would be cured.

They took the two pizzas out of the oven and set it on the table.

"What are you doing?" Randy laughed as Roman put some of Patty's scented candle's on the table and lit them.

"It feels like we're playing a game of chicken." He chuckled. "But which team will turn away first?" Then, his mouth dropped and Randy had to follow his gaze. Teagan was wearing a slinky red gown and he realized she was not overweight at all. Actually, she was very slim and toned, but he could also tell she was uncomfortable and the gown must have revealed her bruises because she wore the matching robe and he was disappointed when she pulled it tight around herself.

However, Andy was not self conscious at all and she walked confidently in a similar black gown with no robe to conceal her shoulders and Roman noticed despite what Randy had asked. They had applied make-up and had slightly styled their hair. In that moment, the two girls that were considered undatable at school were more beautiful that the prettiest of girls and it had taken them less time to achieve it.

"Wow."

Andy blushed at Roman's comment, but as much as it bothered Randy that his best friend was interested in his sister, he was too captivated by Teagan to address it. If Roman's track record with girls was different, he knew he would accept it, but he bounced from girl to girl. No one had ever held his heart and he was quick to take them to bed. He and his friend were identical when it came to dating, except Randy held on to one for a while, but he was never serious and had no problem flirting and picking up another girl if the opportunity presented itself.

"I can't believe I agreed to this." Andy had always been level headed and was very mature for her age. "We are all too old for this game."

"Older and alone." Randy spoke softly, watching Teagan's every move as she took a place at the table. Peer pressure had obviously caused her to go along with the game and he realized she was easily persuaded, which caused him to smile because it made her an even easier target than he had first thought. He had no doubts that he would succeed in getting what he wanted.

"So, what's the scenario?" Everyone looked at him with confused stares. "Are we role playing or what here? The girls are all dressed up. Hmm." he tapped his fingers on his chin. "I guess that means that Randy and I have been working all day."

"And?"

"And we come home to find our wives looking hot and our favorite dinner is on the table..."

"Okay, this is too weird." Andy jumped up from the table, grabbed a couple of slices, threw them on a plate, then did the same on a second and handed it to Teagan. "Let's go listen to some music in my room. I think these two are setting us up for something and we are not falling for it."

"We're not setting you up for anything?" Roman complained.

"Yeah, right. You two don't give either one of us a second look at school. Actually, you guys and your friends have been mean, especially you." she jabbed her finger into Roman's chest. "I'm not about to fall into some trap were you end up taking a picture or something and it will end up all over school. I'm done being your entertainment. Come on, Teagan." The boys were speechless, unable to believe that Andy had been so abrupt and hurtful with her words.

"Randy, you have to let me ask her out." Roman chuckled. "She's..." "No. You don't date Roman. You and I both know how you take a girl out. You're going to get her into bed then drop her. Then things will be weird every time you come over. I don't want that."

"Fine. Forget I said anything, but it looks like you've been shut down too. You're sort of in the same situation."

"It's not the same."

"It's exactly the same. Teagan is your sister's only friend and if you play your game on her, she will never come back here. Andy will hate you."

"Damn." He hadn't thought of it that way. "I guess we are watching movies after all."

"Yup."

They grabbed their food and sat in front of the television. He restarted the movie and before it was half way through, Roman had fallen asleep, but his mind swirled, still unable to push objectives out of his mind and when Teagan emerged an hour later and went into the bathroom carrying a small bundle of clothes in her arms, it became worse. The moment he heard the water start in the shower, he felt tormented and he slipped away unnoticed. He carefully opened the door to the bathroom and went inside. The steam had already filled the small space and he leaned against the wall and watched her through the glass shower door until she shut off the water. She reached for a towel and he had planned to slip out, but her every move captivated him. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the counter, then he stepped up to the shower and waited for her to open the door. When she did, he grabbed her and covered her mouth with his hand so she wouldn't scream out.

"Hey." He said playfully, then removed his hand. She was too stunned to speak and she appeared terrified. He dipped into his pocket and pulled out the joint, then casually leaned against the wall. "Where's Andy? Did she fall asleep too?"

Teagan nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait." He softly begged. "Keep me company." She paused and he wondered if she knew how to say no. It seemed like she felt she had to do everything she was asked and he wondered if it had to do with the abuse she had lived with all her life, but it didn't change his mind about what he wanted to do. He lit the joint and took a big puff then offered it to her. She stared at it, but didn't reach for it. He laughed and put it to his lips again. "Come here." he gently placed his hand behind her neck, beneath her wet hair and leaned closer, blowing the smoke into her mouth. "Breath it in." he cohersed and repeated the action a couple more times until he was sure she had felt the substance's effects, then he touched her lips with his, kissing her softly at first, then a little harder and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She was easy to intoxicate and by the time the joint was done, she was completely compromised and did nothing to fight him when he pulled her into his embrace and pulled the towel away from her body. He let his hands wander, then he skillfully and carefully lead her to his room. He locked the door, still kissing her until he had laid her down and covered them both with his blanket. He hungered for her and the thought of being caught did not stop his advances.

He loved the way she kissed. He loved the way her body felt beneath him, still damp from her shower and when her hands finally stopped trembling and touched his skin, it tingled, sending a chill through his entire body. He kissed her neck, and then stared at the perfect thumb print bruised into her upper arm. He kissed the injury and a different feeling washed over him. He felt protective and wanted to kiss away all her pain. He desperately wanted her to forget everything she had been through and he wanted to show her how loving a man's touch could be.

She gave into him easily, becoming a slave to his desires and he moaned, remembering no other sexual experience that could equal the amount of pleasure he felt when he was inside of her.

"We probably shouldn't tell anyone about this." he whispered between labored breaths when he had finished. He had been with many girls and the love making had always been short, but not with Teagan. He hadn't wanted it to end. "No one, not even Andy, can know that we slept together." She appeared hurt, but nodded in agreement anyway. He rolled off of her, pulled his hidden cigarettes from between his mattress and lit one. He stared at his wall, thinking. It hadn't turned out as he had planned. He wasn't done with her, if anything, what he had felt for her had increased dramatically.


	10. Chapter 10

Teagan laid on her belly and curled her arms around Randy's pillow. Tears wanted to fall from her eyes and she knew a few escaped before she could make herself hold it in. She felt so horrible and had finally become what her father always said she was.

The door opened and Randy jumped from the bed, but Teagan was too tired to move and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see who had interrupted them, sure it was Bob or Patty who would kick her out immediately. Or maybe it was her father who would rip her from the bed and beat her, maybe to death and she did not care. Randy didn't care for her and he never would. He had only used her which he had made clear the moment he had spent himself.

She opened her eyes, but she was still unable to handle whatever was coming, but she found Roman standing and staring.

"Be cool about this, Roman." Randy slipped on a pair of jogging pants, but acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"You're sick." He gazed at Teagan who could not make herself move and she was having an even harder time keeping her eyes open, but she knew what he was thinking. Roman knew that Randy had used her and he would make sure the entire school knew about her humiliation. He turned and walked out of the room and she could not fight any longer. She closed her eyes and was soon asleep, exhausted from the experience that had left her thighs aching.

She awoke early, before anyone else and found she was still lying naked in Randy's bed with his blanket only covering her bottom. Her thighs still hurt and Randy was not in the room. She looked around, unable to think of what to do next and her head still felt cloudy from the illegal drug she had let Randy breath into her body, but she would not let the fact that she ahd been high excuse her actions. Part of her had wanted to stop him, but another part of her just wanted to know what it would be like to be with him. At the same time she had stopped caring. What was she saving herself for anyway? No one really cared and she had already been punished for she had done with Randy, she figured she might as well experience the moment that was supposed to make it worth it. It had felt nice and she had never felt anything like it and she knew she would

never forget it.

She peeked out of the room. Everything was quiet so she hurried into the bathroom and found her clothes were still there. She slipped them on and went into Teagan's room and laid Teagan's sleeping bag on the floor and zipped herself into it. Again, exhaustion and stress overtook her and she gave into sleep again even though the sun was already rising.

"Katie!" She awoke to her shortened first name. Her father had made her go by Teagan, the name she ahd been named for his grandmother, a name that he had wanted to be her first name. Her mother always called her Katie and no one else had in a long time. "Oh, baby." Teagan opened her eyes to see her mother rush into the room, fall to her knees and kiss her forehead.

"Mom?" Teagan sat up and threw her arms around the woman she had longed to see for so long and she let all her emotions escape. She sobbed into her shoulder wishing she could blurt out everything, including what she had allowed Randy to do the night before.

"Strangest thing." Bob leaned against the door frame with his arm around his wife. He wore a big grin as he told his story. "My landlord was out of town and he called me late last night when he got my messages. Who would have guessed that your mom was right across the street."

"Oh, I can't believe it." Diane sobbed. "I was offered the bigger house because the owner wanted to renovate the one I was living in." she explained, then she got to her feet keeping Teagan close. She hugged both of Andy's parents. "Thank you so much for taking her in. I don't want to think what could have happened."

"It's no problem, Diane. I just wish we knew she was your daughter." Patty told her and laughed.

"Roman? Do you want to stay a little while longer?" her mother asked and Teagan was horrified, figuring out that her biggest bully had been her stepbrother all along.

"No." Roman stared with angry eyes. "I guess it really is a small world after all." She heard him growl to Randy as he followed them out the door. He wasn't happy about what he had learned about her and she could only imagine how he would threaten her to keep her relationship to him a secret. There was getting to be too many secrets and she began to hate the social elite. She had always disliked them, but she had never despised. Now, her school life would be ten times worse, but her home life would be better. Even with Roman constantly around to bully her. None of his teasing would be worse than what she had endured living with her father. He had said some cruel things, but he had never struck her and that she could live with.

But all of her confused thought floated out of her mind the moment her mother took her home and showed her into a bedroom that had always been then for her. Her mother had never forgotten her. She had always been part of her life even though she had never been allowed to visit her. The door may have always been shut, but it was there just the same.

"I've updated it a few times." she admitted. "I just hope that you still like zebra's."

"I do." she said in awe of the room that was decorated in zebra prints and pink. Her favorite stuffed animal as a child had been a stuffed zebra and she had never gone anywhere without it until her father had made her throw it in a trash can.

Her mother had gone overboard decorating the room. The bed had a zebra print comforter, trimmed in pink with matching throw pillows. All the furniture was black and including a desk with its own pink cordless phone. Everything coordinated well and it looked like it had been taken right out of a decorating magazine. There was zebra printed love seat with a matching ottoman and the wall décor matched as well. It was perfect. A dream, but her mother's happiness was clouded by something and she cried as she stared at bruises the tank top she wore exposed.

"I'm so afraid he's going to come and snatch you away again." she sobbed, hugging her tightly. "I just can't stand knowing that he will eventually. We never did know how long, did we?" It was true. Her father had left her behind before, once for a year before he had come to jerk her away in the middle of the night. But she had been six then and she hoped her age would make it more difficult for him to do it again.

"Get a lawyer." Roman came in and flopped down on the sofa and kicked his feet up on the ottoman. "She's old enough to tell a judge where she wants to be. It would be easy."

"It's more complicated than that Roman, darling."

"No, it's not. You need to stop being scared of him, Mom." it hurt Teagan that he called her mom and it made her feel jealous of him having her mother for so long while she suffered. "He's not going to do anything. People who threaten are always all talk. It's the one's who don't who are dangerous." he shrugged. "Besides, you have protection. This place has a great security system and you have dad and me. No one is going to do anything."

"you're right, kiddo. I am sick of all of this. It's time I fought for what I want, no matter what happens. I love you, Katie." she cried. She was much stronger than she remembered her mother being and she was grateful for the man she had married who had given it to her. "My family will not be broke apart ever again. I promise." She gave her daughter another hug. "Well, it's time we started living our lives, isn't it? Now that our family is whole." she went over and picked up Teagan's bag and began to go through it. "I was going to wash these, but I think I'd rather throw them in the trash." she laughed. "First, we are going to get that wrist looked at, but I think I want a lawyer first because I'll be damned if social services is going to get involved this time. They are not going to take you from me again."

The lawyer her mother's boss recommended was a very busy man and had to stop by to talk to them in between meetings, but he was very understanding and gave them both hope. However, he asked to see the bruises, wanting to take pictures to document the torture she had endured and Teagan nervously unbuttoned the shirt she had borrowed from her other and dropped it, careful to hold it close to her bosom. She wished Roman had not been lurking in his bedroom door, listening to every word, because it was another humiliation she did not want the world to know about, but after she revealed her injury, the look on his face was one she had never imagined she would see on him. He seemed honestly sickened, closed his eyes and turned away.

After seeing her and hearing her mother's worries, the lawyer called his office and had his next meetings rescheduled. He wanted to accompany them to the hospital and by the time they had arrived, he had already had an emergency custody hearing filed and scheduled. Teagan was in awe of the way he worked, giving no excuses and working quickly to make sure Teagan would be in a safe environment.

But no one could stop the doctor's at the emergency room from calling social services and a case worker entered her room before her ex-rays had been seen by a doctor. They had decided to place here entire body into a machine that scared her, reminding her of a coffin, fearing she may have internal injuries. Luckily, there were none, but she had a cracked rib that she had thought was only bruised.

The social worker introduced herself and then Teagan was forced to tell her story yet again, but all she did was write on her notebook and nod.

"Well, this is what we have to do." she spoke with no feeling. "Teagan will have to be placed into a foster home until we can inspect both homes and analyze where she would be best cared for."

"What?" Diane almost screamed. "Isn't obvious where she would be safest?"

"Ma'am, for all we know, the child may be safer in the state's care."

"No." she began to cry.

"You haven't done anything to fight for the right to even see your child and that could be deemed as a form of neglect as well."

"Now, wait a minute." The lawyer spoke up. "Teagan is old enough to make some decisions. She knows where she wants to be and this young lady wants to live with her mother. There are regulations to follow in this type of situation, but that is a lot of extra paperwork for you, isn't it?" he sounded sarcastic. "but I do remember reading one of your manuals and I do remember it saying that an abused child may be temporarily placed with a close relative if one is available. Well, one is available and willing. A custody hearing has already been scheduled, so the way I see it, you were just saved a very long ride to the foster home."

"I – I." she straightened her jacket and regained her composure. "I guess you also read that that decision is left to the sole discretion of each individual case worker and I'm afraid that I don't like to do things that way. There have been too many mistakes made in the past and I won't be responsible for one of my cases dying. I have no way of knowing if this woman won't let this child go back into the hands of her abuser."

"I guess that means your institution is running low on funds again. I remember the last time you people took every child into foster care immediately. Social services get a check for each child you hold in your facilities and I'm guessing you're superiors have talked to all of you. You're doing nothing but collecting kids. I did my research. You haven't given one child to a family member in over a year and you have prolonged every case. Your lawyers have asked for extensions on most or you have rescheduled them multiple times, but only on the cases were the defendants were likely to gain custody. Lady, if you take this child today, your entire organization will be looking at a whole lot of trouble."

"Excuse me." She went outside and Teagan saw her talking on her phone. After a few moments she came back and said she would allow her to go home with her mother and she would come by at an undertermined time to inspect the living conditions before the court hearing, then she left.

"I told you every thing would be okay." Their lawyer winked. "Say hello to Jacob for me."

"I will." Apparently, the lawyer knew her stepfather, who was away on a mandatory annual business trip. It was another coincidence in her life where everyone in it seemed to be connected to someone else.

That night, she slept in her own bed and in a safe place. It was the first time in a long time that could be said and yet, she couldn't stay asleep long. Her mother had stopped by the mall on the way home and had bought her a whole new wardrobe and a new pink laptop that matched the pink in her room.

She had tried to protest the extravagance of her mother's spending, but her mother would not hear of it, claiming that money was not a big issue in her life anymore. She had a good job and so did her husband, but still, she didn't feel right having so much spent on her. But at the same time, she could not wait to get up and apply the new make-up she had gotten.

She sat up and turned on her laptop and made herself a profile on a popular social network and an email account. It was another thing she had never had and before she could finish filling in what she wanted people to know, a gently tap on her window made her nearly jump to the ceiling.


	11. Chapter 11

Randy tapped lightly on the window next to Roman's. He had been watching her through the open curtains for a while and finally gave into his desires, hoping she would let him in. He smiled when she rose from the bed and came his way, then felt instantly rejected as she flung the curtains shut. She had been on online, so he went home and turned on his own laptop and hunted for her name on the social network site that most everyone loved to chat on. He found three profiles with her name and chose one with no picture. He slid the cursor over the friends request button, but he could not send it, because his friends would instantly harass him when they saw the update on their pages. As much as he liked her, he just wasn't willing to put up with the social anxiety that would come with their association. He sent her a private message instead, asking for her for her email and explaining that he wanted to talk to her through an instant messenger.

He feared she would not respond, but eventually, she did, telling him she didn't have a messenger and he proceeded to tell her where to download it. He knew he could add her to that friend's list, because his friends would not be able to see who he had on his list. He sent her his email and he waited and waited for nearly twenty minutes before she finally contacted him.

"What do you want?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Don't worry, Randy. I really don't want anyone to know I slept you either."

Reading her words felt like she had stabbed him.

"I didn't say that for the reasons you think."

"I know how important your social status is."

"I honestly can't remember why I liked you so much."

"Ah, so you did have a thing for me."

"Until last night."

"I do like you, Red. Why is it so terrible that I want to keep what we have a secret? You know how kids at school are and I don't want them to ruin what is so special between us. You don't understand how they pick and pull until they destroy the relationship, especially if their jealous.

"Why would they be jealous?"

"Because of who I am. Because they want me and you have me."

"You're so conceited, Randy."

"I'm just saying, you're not the only girl who wants me and if they can't have me, some of them can be really mean to whoever does."

"Good thing I don't want you."

"I think you do."

"Not like this. It's all or nothing. I won't be used for one night stand whenever it's convenient for you and then ignored the rest of the time."

"Please don't do this. Don't end it so soon."

"You can't end what never started. Forget it, Randy. If I'm not good enough to stand beside you in front of your friends, then you're not good enough for me."

It was the last thing she typed and then she disappeared. He waited, but she never came back online and he sat staring at the conversation, hating the way the world worked and the lines that were set in stone. He did not how he had ended up where he had, but it was the way things were and until school was over, there was nothing he could do to change it. He could not understand why she could not understand and why she could not be content. Most girls would be happy to have him anyway they could. Why was she being so difficult? Why was she being so stubborn? He could not do what she wanted and he refused to compromise. After all, he was the one with the higher rank in their social situation and he should be the one to call the shots. She frustrated him and he shut the computer hard.

"Damn it!" He said a little to loud and covered his mouth hoping he did not wake anyone, but he had never been dumped before and he didn't know how to process the mixed emotions.

Two days before Christmas and Teagan would not talk to him. She would come over and see Andy, but she wouldn't let their eyes meet. She wouldn't say so much as hi to him and it drove him insane. He was miserable, unable to stop thinking about her and it felt even worse, because he could not have her. He could not touch her or kiss her. He wanted to take her out, but that was impossible.

The only good thing that came out of Teagan's situation was that she and Andy quickly grew close. He found himself staring, just watching her laugh with no reserve. She had a beautiful laugh and her blue eyes grew even bluer each day. She had changed so much, abandoning her loose fitting clothes and wearing jeans that hugged her bottom and tank tops that showed her toned arms. She and Andy walked every day and his sister gave up her slumpy attire and Randy wondered if she had continued to wear the large clothes just so Teagan would feel comfortable. He wondered a lot of things about the way the girls thought, but he knew he would probably never find those answers.

"Mom said it was okay if you still want to spend the night." Teagan told her friend as they sat painting each others nails. Randy sighed, wishing that their sleepover would take place at his house, but Teagan had a way of casually switching locations and the fact that Andy was crazy about the room Teagan's mother had decorated and the temporary way that Diane spoiled the girl.

"I guess we have the house to ourselves tonight, man. Maybe we should throw a party just like how we used to." Randy turned to his best friend who sat on the floor browsing history notes.

"Not feeling it." Roman had always loved a party and he had never known him to turn down an opportunity to raise the roof.

"Do you know how long it could be before my parents go out of town again?"

"Well, I think having the girl I'm crazy about sleeping in the room next door all night trumps party."

"I thought we already came to an understanding about that?" Randy fumed. Roman seemed to have no consideration for his feelings, or the fact that his actions could make for some uncomfortable moments in the future.

"Oh, I understand." Roman spat. "But you already screwed my sister."

"None of us knew..."

"So what? I still asked you to leave Katie alone and you snuck off and took advantage of her as soon as I closed my eyes. Now you two can't even look at each other. You hurt her you asshole!"

"did she tell you that?" Randy closed his eyes and swallowed hard. It wasn't easy to hear about the consequences of his actions.

"She doesn't have to. I can see it. She was a good girl even before I knew who she was. I was starting to see it when you started putting her on your teams in gym class. Why did you do it? You can't use a girl like that. She's not some girl who sleeps around like Brandy and Ashley. Damn it, Randy. You had a threesome with both of them just a few days before and you're trying to make believe you had a thing for Katie for a long time. You're full of shit! You just wanted to add her to your hit list." Roman laughed. "but I'm guessing she's the only one you had to get high first. So, if you ask me it doesn't count."

"Oh, shut up! You don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit. You never had any plans to keep her in your life, but she didn't just fade away like the last girl, did she?" Randy sat down and collapsed his head in his hands.

"I never felt this way about any of the others and I don't know how to deal with it. That's why I did what I did, but I never thought I would push so far away I couldn't get her back."

"you can only get something back that you possessed in the first place. You never put in the work to have her. You just stole something precious in the middle of the night."

"isn't that what you're planning to do with Andy? You're never serious. Are you using her to get revenge on me?"

"It would make us even." He shrugged. "But no. There is just something about her that makes me want to know what it's like to have a serious girlfriend and I want it bad enough to destroy our friendship."

"You're not going to destroy our friendship. Just don't screw up like I did."

"You know, you could stay at my house tonight." Roman grinned menacingly. "Red's been having Andy over there just so she doesn't have to see you. I know that's what she's doing. We may just have to throw a wrench in her plans. We'll wait a little while before we go over, after your mom and dad leave, that way Mom won't let them leave." Roman laughed. "She doesn't like the idea of teens staying alone unsupervised. She thinks we'll end up like you."

"Oh very funny."

His parents left a couple of hours later and they made their way to Roman's house. They went to the gym above the garage first, hoping to buy a little more time, both too nervous to confront the girls inside. Randy again worked out his frustrations. He couldn't figure out how to approach a girl who did not like him. It had been easy before, but he had alienated her. There was no one to blame but himself and he had no clue how to fix it. Another first.

"Okay, I can't stand it anymore." Roman finally blurted out. "I'm going in. I've wasted enough time that could have been spent with Andy."

"Andy is here to spend time with her best friend not you." Randy chuckled as he pointed out the obvious. "I doubt they will come out of the bedroom once Red sees me here."

"Maybe you should go home." he said jokingly.

"be serious. How are we going separate them?" He asked as they walked into the home. The girls were sitting in the living room, laughing and carrying on about something they had been talking about but they instantly halted their conversation when they walked in, but their eye contact and muffled giggles said that they had been talking about them. Randy saw it as a positive sign and he cockily strolled over and sat down beside his crush. He put an arm around her shoulders and then he thought he smelled a hint of alcohol.

"Oh, you two are wrong for holding out on us." he joked. "Where's it hidden?"

"I don't have to hide anything." Teagan told him and pulled a large bottle of vodka from beside the couch.

"Mom decided to go meet dad, didn't she?" Roman guessed, taking a seat beside Andy, but he was a less comfortable, remaining rigid and only sitting on the edge.

"Yup."

"But she hates leaving us alone when we have friends over. She knew Randy and I were staying here tonight."

"She hasn't seen her husband in almost a month. He's flying all over the place trying to convince the companies partners that everything had gone smoothly all year. Of course she's going to meet him when he's only a few hours away.

"Did she drive?"

"Yes, but I'm worried she may not make it back tomorrow morning. We are supposed to get an another snow storm tonight."

"She knows we'll be okay." Roman assured her. "And you can bet she stocked the hell out of that kitchen just in case." he laughed. It was true. Diane had always gone a little overboard to make sure that she was ready for every situation. Randy remembered the day he had fallen off his skateboard and injured his knee so badly that he was sure he could see his knee cap. The woman had so much in her first aid box, that even the doctor's had been impressed. His father had been out of town and by the time he had finally been able to call to give Diane permission to act on his behalf as far as the hospital paperwork was concerned, she had already stopped the bleeding, pulled his skin together and bandaged it. She was an amazing woman and he had once wished that he could find a woman as great as her one day and then he met her daughter.

"Okay, so looks like we're having a party after all." Roman grinned.

"No way." Teagan argued. "I'm pushing it already by drinking this stuff."

"I meant a private party little sister." Roman playfully slapped her knee. "Everyone I want to hang out with is already in the room."

Andy's mouth dropped and Randy knew she was shocked that Roman had included her as one of the people he wanted to hang out with, then he leaned over and kissed her, touching her face gently. Randy had seen him kiss girls before, but never as softly and sweetly as he kissed his sister, so he had no choice but to drop their rule and support his friend's decision.

Randy followed his lead, leaning to kiss Teagan, but she turned away.

"Teagan," he began.

"Katie." She corrected him. "My name is Katie. My father made me go by Teagan and I want nothing to do with that man and I want nothing to do with you." she staggered a little as she rose and stormed out of the room, but she was determined none the less to put distance between them.

"What was that all about?" Andy asked, obviously having no idea what had happened between them.

"Nothing." He sighed sadly. "I guess she's just not into me."

"Go after her." Roman insisted. "if you're serious. But if you're playing a game, I'm warning you to leave her be. You better make sure you're really willing to put in the work before you make your choice." And at that moment, he was ready. He was ready to deal with school and all the hell they would put them both through.


	12. Chapter 12

Katie. It felt good to use her given name again. It was almost like the girl she had been had died and a new life was blossoming. She felt herself emerge, her fear diminish and her confidence slowly returned, but at times she still felt uncomfortable and unsure. But not with Randy, she was completely sure how she felt about him. She cared about him, because she had fell hard and had crushed on him for a long time. It wasn't easy to hate him, but she wanted to. She felt so used and yet she still wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to feel his body against hers again and she wanted to feel that rush of passion that had surged through her during their love making. It had been an addicting feeling and she wondered if it would feel the same way with any guy. She hoped Randy was not the only one that could make her feel that way. For a moment she had felt beautiful, desired, like there was no one else in the world he would rather hold, and she had been heartbroken when he had pretty much said different.

And she knew him so well, she had memorized him like the lyrics of a song. She had watched him so long. She knew his laugh, his smile, the way his eyes creased when he was happy and the way his brow lifted when he was surprised. All she had to do was close her eyes and she could see him, but his kisses were harder to imagine. So brief their love had been. So short that she couldn't recall it to get through a restless night, but those words she could hear as if he was right beside her yelling them.

"Can't you take a hint." But her words came in a whisper, unable to send the message of discouragement that would send him away. "Go away."

But he didn't, instead he squatted in front of her stopping her gently swinging.

"I guess I really screwed up, didn't I?"

She didn't answer him, only turned away again.

"Katie, please talk to me." He begged and when she gazed she caught him trying to hide a tear and all her anger faded. "I was scared and I made a huge mistake."

She touched his hand and decided to give him another chance. She couldn't imagine how hard it was for him and she knew how awful the kids he hung out with were.

"I must be insane." she whispered then let him kiss her with a kiss that made her entire body feel weak.

They rejoined their friends, hand in hand and it seemed like they had the perfect group, but after a little more alcohol the boy's advances began to increase. Andy seemed completely enamored with Roman and persuading her to accompany him into his room was almost effortless. Katie only hoped that her best friend did not fall into the same trap as she had.

She was still unsure what to think about Roman. He was quiet at home. When he spoke to her he was courteous and he never refused to give her a ride anywhere, but she couldn't call him a friend, much less a brother. She would be going with him to baseball tryouts in the spring and she planned on joining him at the practices he and his teammates voluntarily gathered for once a week all year long, but she had no clue as to how he would act when they returned to school.

Randy slid closer to her, letting the arm he had draped behind her on the couch slip to her shoulder. Sipping on the liquor had seemed to be her ally but when she laid her head on his shoulder, she realized that she was not drunk at all and she wanted Randy again. She wanted so badly to be his girl. She wanted to be able to tell the world that he was her man. She sighed because she knew that would never happen.

"Would you wear my ring?" He offered her a man's gold band with a black onyx square and small diamond in the middle. That ring never left his finger and everyone would know immediately who it belonged to. As far as she knew he had never given it to a girl before and Brandy had asked, in fact, she had practically begged for it.

Randy did not wait for an answer before he slipped it on her first finger. It was a little big.

"I had a feeling we would need this." he chuckled and pulled out a small spool of thread from his pocket, took the ring and wrapped it with the black thread, until he had padded it sufficiently then he again fit it on her finger. He kissed her and she gave herself to him for the second time right there on the living room sofa.

They were inseparable throughout the winter breaks. The four of them seemed to have formed a group of their own and Katie could not wait to go back to school. She actually anticipated the look on the cheerleader's faces when she and Andy walked into school with Randy and Roman, but the first day back did not go as planned. Randy developed the flu and was unable to return with the rest and she missed him. She wasn't the bragging type, so she kept the news to herself, waiting for him to return and tell them all himself. The next week, he still didn't feel better and his mother refused to let anyone see him, saying she did not want anyone else to become infected. Finally, that Tuesday, he came back, arriving after the first period class had ended. Katie was surprised to see him as she ventured to her next class, but there he was looking so wonderful in his leather jacket, leaned against the locker with a swarm of his friends surrounding him. She walked up to him with a huge smile.

"Hey you!" she said happily, slipping between the two blondes who stood too close for her liking. Randy stared at her with a blank smile and she knew it would take him a moment to form his words. His eyes moved to each of his friends and then he just looked away. He literally turned his entire body around, opened his locker and said nothing, hurting her once again.

"You can change your look and your name TEAGAN, but you are still a nerdy dork." Brandy laughed. "I can't believe she actually thought she was good enough to hang out with us. Right Randy?" Randy glanced at her and she waited, glaring hatefully at him, giving one last chance, but he averted his eyes and picked out his next periods supplies.

"Oh, I see." she snapped. "I guess I was just someone the pass the time with." she slipped his ring off her finger and set it on top of the books in his locker, making sure that everyone saw that she had been wearing the famous item. "Don't worry. It's no big deal. You're not as great as everyone thinks you are. Have a nice life, Randy." And she stormed off without a tear in her eye. She had already cried enough for that boy and he didn't deserve anymore. He had broken every promise. He had thrown away a beautiful relationship just to save his reputation.

"Katie!" later that day, he approached her as she was heading from the locker room to the gym. "I'm sorry. I just froze."

"Get out of my way." Excuses. It's all he ever had to give her.

"Of course you wouldn't understand. You've never been popular."

"If being popular causes people to treat the one's they claim to love like shit, then I'm glad nobody likes me."

In gym, she was no longer picked last, in fact she was always one of the first the captains chose no matter who went first. They had a new kid join their class that day. A tall, red headed boy with milk white skin. Everyone laughed the moment they first saw him, but amazingly, their teasing was subdued by his comedic personality that he expressed immediately. The couch named him as a team captain that day as a welcome and he took his time with his first choice, aggravating Randy who she knew was ready to pluck her out of the crowd. However, Sheamus beat him to the choice, picking her with a mock game of duck duck goose that made everyone giggle. Randy fumed, but she took the opportunity to make him feel how he had made her feel.

She spent a lot of time talking to the new guy that day. He was Irish and had only lived in the country a short time. It was his third move in a year and he said it was supposed to be his father's last reassignment for some time. Sheamus was sweet and funny and very well built. She found him attractive even though he did not share the dark skin toned that was considered attractive by most people. She liked that he was different and did not let anyone's teasing affect him or take away his smile.

They played kickball that day and when she walked up to the plate, she caught the angry glare of her ex boyfriend and she set her aim on him as the ball rolled her way. She kicked it with all her strength and the ball went soaring through the air, hitting him in the head and knocking him to the floor, but she did not feel bad about it at all.

By the end of the day, she had a date with Sheamus and Randy was a distant memory.


	13. Chapter 13

Randy had a hard time accepting that he had lost Katie. She wouldn't look at him. Not at school, not at home. It was the worst feeling he had ever felt and he had brought it upon himself. Friday came too fast for him and the sick feeling in his stomach. School ended. He watched Katie get out of Roman's car. He watched her walk into the house and he knew she immediately began getting ready for her date. Her very first date. With another guy.

Depressed he walked around the backyard, kicking at stones, picking them up, tossing them. He hit the one solitary tree that stood in the middle of the yard, tearing his knuckles, but he didn't feel the sting of torn flesh. The pain in his heart canceled out any physical anguish. Finally, he had worn himself out and his bed sounded like the best plan. He didn't want to go out like he usually did. He didn't want to hang out with his friends. He didn't care to talk on the phone or watch a movie. He just wanted to disappear into a dream where he was not expected to follow the code of the social elite. Where he was free to show how he truly felt for Katie. He walked with his head down, his hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet defeated. He came around the side and heard the roar of a large engine that caused him to lift his gaze. Sheamus pulled into the driveway across the street and he sunk to the ground and laid his back against the side of the house. He watched as Katie emerged with a smile looking gorgeous in a blue sundress that barely reached her mid thigh. The spaghetti straps on her shoulders were so thin and he knew he would have spent the night kissing those completely bare shoulders that showed the lightest patches of freckles. He loved those freckles, but when he shut his eyes to imagine kissing each one, he was met with an image of the pale red head doing the honors instead. He cradled his head in his hand and cried. His friends would condemn him for his show of weakness. His friends would mock and tease, but they weren't around. Others pain was a source of amusement, like they weren't human themselves, like they didn't experience sadness.

And why did he care? Why did he still need them to like him? Roman stepped outside and he saw him crossing the street, coming his way. He envied him. He had walked away from the social elite in a moment, ditching two of the hottest cheerleaders who cornered him at his locker that day, taking Andy's hand and walking away without giving a damn about the mean words they shouted at him. They began to talk behind his back, they teased him and he shrugged it off without no remorse.

"Sucks to be popular." Roman gruffly remarked, standing like a statue over him.

'Yeah." Randy sighed and wiped away his tears, hoping his buddy didn't notice, but he knew he had.

"Well, I'm not about sit around here doing nothing all night. Want to catch a movie?"

"Don't do me any favors, Roman. I know you don't want to drag along a third wheel tonight."

"Andy is studying tonight." he laughed. "She actually told me that I had to stand in line. Her grades are more important and she said I can accept that or find another date." He laughed. "Damn I think I love that girl. Anyway. There's no one else I care to go out with, except you."

"That really sounded bad." Randy forced a laugh. "I may seem desperate right now, but I'm not low enough to date ya buddy."

"There's my friend." Roman laughed, helping him to his feet. "Besides, I don't know this guy Katie is going out with. I want to stay close until I know he's cool. You want to go or not?"

"sure." he wasn't thrilled about witnessing Katie's date. Each kiss would only rip another hole in his heart, but he had always had Roman's back just as he had always had his.

He didn't think they would easily find which theater Sheamus had taken Katie to, but Roman seemed to know exactly which one and which movie.

"It's showing in three of them." Randy rubbed his temple as he stared at the signs above the doors in the big building.

"We'll just check them all." Roman shrugged. The movie had just begun to show the previews, but there were a lot of people and Randy doubted it would be that easy, but he followed him anyway into the first. They sat in the back row and casually scanned. "Not here."

ON to the second, they sat in the back and to Randy's surprise, they spotted the red head only three rows in front of them. They kicked up their feet on the back of the empty chairs in front of them and snacked on their popcorn. This theater wasn't as full as the last and he guessed it was because its chairs were much older. It was one of the original theaters in the building back when it only housed three theater rooms. The screen was slightly smaller but it was good enough for him. The sound was still amazing and he liked the smaller crowds when so many others opted for what they believed was the best.

They were also able to sit in the corner of the back row where a wall came down two rows, hiding them from the view of anyone coming and going in the center aisle. So, he wasn't worried that Katie might see them spying on her, not unless she was to turn and look directly behind her. Randy did not know what was going on in the movie. His eyes were glued to Katie and Sheamus., especially after he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He watched him whisper and witnessed her laugh at what had been said. He watched and stared. Sheamus turned her, stared into her eyes and then kissed her half way through the movie and Randy stared with narrowed slits, his fists curled and he wanted to jump over the seats and tear him apart. That was his girl the red head was kissing!

"Don't." Roman must have known what he was thinking and he whispered commandingly, then popped another handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Good movie for a chick flick." he acted like it was no big deal. It was a big deal!

The movie ended and they waited until the new couple pasted, too busy talking and smiling to notice the her two bodyguards, then they slipped out. Neither of them had any idea where they were heading next so they had to follow them, carefully. Roman was oddly good at that and they pulled into a diner that all the kids like to hang out in.

Randy smiled. It wouldn't be odd for the two of them to show up there and Katie would have no reason to believe they were following her. He felt like a stalker as he walked into the diner and took his spot at his favorite booth. His eyes met with hers and she seemed to become uncomfortable. He pretended not to care that she was there, keeping his eyes from turning her way, talking to the girls that surrounded him like metal to a magnet. He laughed, but it was not genuine. Only an act so she would believe he wasn't hurting, but he was. He was devastated.

Sheamus however did care that he was there. He did notice the difference in Katie who didn't sit as close, who had moved slightly away the moment Randy walked into the establishment. Katie was quieter, talking less and her eyes kept darting each time she wanted to laugh. She seemed scared to show that she was enjoying herself. Seemed to feel guilty for it. Did that mean she still cared? Did it mean part of her still wanted him?

But Sheamus didn't know, did he? Had he heard the rumors about him and Katie? He was sure he had, but they all painted Katie as a hopeless dreamer who had made up the story. Some people even spread rumors that she had stolen his ring. Some people said that he had been nice to her during the break and she had taken it wrong. They all laughed at her. They all teased and ridiculed and he had done nothing. He had let it go on and said nothing. Nothing!

He wanted to scream out. Tell them all to go to hell, take her by the hand and leave with her, but he wouldn't. He just kept imagine the things people would say at school. He imagined the jocks that were now his friends pushing and picking like they did other guys that were outside of their league. It was a horrible existence, one he avoided by being on the inside. He never liked it. He never agreed with it, but he had to play along or it would be him – again. He couldn't go through it again. Those kids had bullied him when they were very young, but somehow they had forgotten the braces of the boy that was far too skinny and tall for his age. They had forgotten the zits and they had forgotten the accidental explosion of gas on the first day of school that had made him the brunt of their jokes all through elementary. Even his best friend didn't know that secret and he would never speak of it. He would never take a chance of that old nickname resurfacing. Never!

"Are you okay, luv?" Sheamus noticed she had been distant. Her eyes were fixed on Randy and the girl who sat on his lap. His arms draped around her waist and hers around his neck. He had moved on easily enough, so why shouldn't she? At least Sheamus had taken her on a real date. At least he wanted to be seen with her. Randy was embarrassed by her, so how could he truly love her. No, he didn't. He just wanted someone he could screw anytime he wanted. Someone he could go to when there was no one else. She wouldn't be that girl for him. She wouldn't hurt that way.

She smiled and tried to enjoy herself which she had been doing for the most part before Randy's appearance. No, that wasn't true. During the entire movie she had found herself daydreaming. Every move Sheamus made, she wondered if it would have felt the same if it had been Randy instead. Of course, it wouldn't have been the same. Sheamus's kiss was okay, but she didn't feel what she had felt when Randy's lips had touched hers.

"I'm just a little tired." she lied. She was ready to go. Ready to go somewhere where Randy was not.

"Okay." Sheamus was a good guy. "I'll take you home." He didn't seem disappointed at all. He seemed to understand and his own yawn indicated that he was feeling just as worn out. She guessed he was probably exhausted. He got up much earlier to take care of the farm animals his family raised. His father didn't believe in buying meat from the market. He believed it was bad for his family with the chemicals they gave the animals and he helped tend a large garden after school.

She loved his accent. Loved the way he talked and laughed when he said phrases that were odd in her world, but every day sentences in his. He had a contagious laugh and a beautiful smile. She knew he would be good to her and imagined him a romantic. He sure didn't mind throwing his arm about her in the hallway even after he was told she was not the best person to hang around if he cared about his social standing.

Sheamus took her home and he actually walked her to her door. He kissed her good bye in an old fashioned way, but he was unable to say an easy goodbye. Her mother opened the door and insisted he come in so she could get to know him properly. Of course, Sheamus was respectable saying all the right things, making no excuses to get out of it and he sat in there living room on an ottoman while her mother asked him question after question. He seemed nervous and she thought it was cute.


	14. Chapter 14

Katie's parents invited Sheamus into their home each time he took her out. ON their sixth date, it seemed like they were becoming a serious couple. And she was certain when they skipped dinner to go for a simple drive. They ended up on an old dirt road where they parked in front of the river. They were secluded by thick woods and she knew what was on his mind.

His hands were calloused from working on his family's small farm. His lips pressed with more passion and he slipped beneath her shirt like a pro. The warmth of his touch against her bare skin felt good, but at the same time it caused her to tense. She forced herself through their making out, remembering how wonderful making love to Randy had felt. She wanted to feel that rush again. She hoped it would be just as wonderful with Sheamus, perhaps it would be even better.

Her shirt was lifted from her body and his fingertips traced her bra until found the clasp. He smiled then kissed her neck as he professionally unclasped it with just two fingers. He brought his lips to the creamy skin of her breast, but stopped. The car was suddenly illuminated from behind with the bright headlights of another vehicle. They scrambled to redress and Sheamus hurried to start the car and back out of their parking spot.

"I'm sorry about that." He apologized as if he had done something he shouldn't have.

"It's okay. I wanted to be with you."

"You did?"

"Yes." She smiled. "Anyway, you didn't have to take off. I'm sure it was just another couple looking for a spot to make out."

"Maybe, but I think they maybe still following us."

Randy's name entered her mind and she was furious. Of course he would try to keep her from being with another guy. He seemed obsessed, yet he only wanted her to be his in secret. It infuriated her.

Sheamus cut the date short and they pulled into her driveway. She jumped out ready to lash out at Randy the moment he pulled into his driveway, but the car that followed them pulled in her driveway instead and she felt the blood drain from her body.

"I knew it." Her father stormed towards her and she backed away. "I knew you were out doing things with boys. You're coming home Teagan."

"No." she backed away and ran toward her front door. "MOM!" she yelled out shutting and locking the door behind her then let out a scream when it was kicked in. There was a lot screaming, mostly coming from her as her father snatched her by her hair and jerked her backwards. Her mother wasn't home. No one was home and Sheamus stood like a statue.

"You're leaving!" her father insisted.

"I'm supposed to be with mom." She cried out.

"You think you're smart little girl. The custody hearing isn't for another month and according to my lawyer whoever you live with at the time of that hearing is who the judge usually gives custody to." He laughed. "You're bitch mother will pay out her ass for custody this time. She should have kept her mouth shut!"

She begged and pleaded but it did no good.

"What are you doing?" Her mother's voice screamed. She had just pulled into the drive way to witness the scene. Katie didn't want to go. She didn't want to give up her new life and end up moving to who knows where, not knowing when she would see her mother again. She would never be allowed to see her friends or have any kind of life. "Sheamus call the cops!" she ordered and for the first time in her life she watched her mother fight. The small woman jumped on her father's back, making him release Katie. Her actions had caused her father's temper to raise a few more degrees and he began to take it out on his ex-wife. Who took every strike? "Run Katie!" she instructed.

"Sheamus do something!" she begged. The boy was big enough to pull him off but he just stood there.

"I can't, Kati. I want to, but I can't." He grabbed her hand and forced her into the truck where he locked the doors. "Katie, I'm on probation. If I do anything I'll …"

"Probation for what?" She cried, terrified by the attack her mother was receiving. "Please."

"The cops are on the way." He seemed so heartbroken, so upset. His fist shook and she didn't understand why he didn't step in. "I'm sorry, Katie. I'm so sorry, but I can't be involved in this."

It had been a long night. A tiring night. Randy had taken a job at a cotton mill and worked the cleanup crew after school on weekends and alternating Friday's after school. It was hard work for little pay, but he wanted to support his own wants instead of asking his parents who provided well, but worked far too hard to give him and Andy what they needed and wanted.

He had changed a lot in just a few short months. He believed he had matured considerably. He had come to understand why he had lost Katie and he realized he had caused the entire break up. He felt like a child when he thought about how stupidly he had cast her aside in front of his friends, but he was more of an adult and no longer had the time to try and win her back. What was done was done, but it didn't stop him from carrying a torch for her. But there was just no time anymore.

He pulled onto the road he lived on and took a deep breath. Finally, he would be able to lay back and relax. A long school day. A long afternoon of work and now it was him time. At least until the next afternoon.

A police cruiser few past him, sirens blaring, woke him up and made him alert. Then he narrowed his eyes wondering what was going on and hoped it had nothing to do with his own home. He pressed harder on the gas remembering that Andy was home alone.

He approached the scene not long after the cop had arrived and he saw what was going on at his neighbors. He jumped out of the car without bothering to take the keys out of the ignition and hurried across the street. Katie sat in a truck with Sheamus while the cop tried to get the large man he recognized as her father to stop beating Diane. The small statured cop was easily swatted away and he called for backup. Katie was screaming and crying behind locked doors and he felt his own heart crumble the moment he saw those tears.

"I can't tase him." He heard the cop say into his radio. "Not without hurting the woman." The officer took out his baton and again headed to help. Randy didn't think he just quickened his pace, aiding the officer in pulling the large man off the defenseless woman. Katie's father turned his strikes to Randy, apparently remembering their last encounter. He speared him to the ground and began to punch him, not caring about that randy was a minor. Randy fought back, but the man's weight on top of him kept him down. He took it. He didn't care as long as Katie wasn't his next target.

"Randy!" He heard Katie screaming his name. He saw her kneeling beside her mother, both their eyes glued to what was happening to him. Her mother seemed okay thankfully.

Randy continued to fight, hoping to keep him from turning toward his daughter, but he lost interest again taking steps to reclaim his offspring.

"I hate you!" Katie screamed at him and the man snatched her hair while she clung to her mother. Randy got to his feet, holding his ribs that ached, paying no attention to the blood dripping from the corner of his eye. With all the strength he could find he touched the man's shoulder and dealt one strong fist to his jaw, rendering him unsteady and stunned for a moment. He could smell the alcohol on his breath. Katie ran to him and put her arms around him, falling to the ground with him, crying hysterically while the cop finally fired his Taser.

"Let me look at you." Randy ignored his own injuries and touched the red mark on Katie's cheek. "Are you alright." He had tried so hard not to love her. Tried so hard not to care about the red head, but in an instant all he had managed to accomplish was gone. He kissed her forehead, her cheek and dried her tears.

Backup arrived too late to do anything but take statements and an ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Sheamus stood with his hands in his pockets with a guilt ridden sadness.

"I'm sorry, baby." He apologized. "I'd be deported if I get in anymore trouble."

"You had a very good reason to fight." Randy yelled. "What kind of man stands by and lets' a woman be brutalized!"

"It wouldn't matter." Sheamus sighed. "I'm sorry. This is too big of a mess for me to be involved in. I like you Katie, but I can't be involved. I'm sorry." It sounded like he had broken up with Katie to Randy and he was glad. Katie needed someone who would step up for her, not hide to protect his own interest. He knew he probably wouldn't get her back but he would risk his own life any day to protect her and everyone would just have to get used to it.

Katie clung to her ex-boyfriend while the emergency personal checked him over. She couldn't believe what he had done and injuries he was willing to sustain. It made no sense. The boy who would not stand up and say he loved her in front of her friends had no problem risking his life away from them. How could he do that? How could he take such a risk when smaller ones he hadn't been willing to take?

As confused as she was could not tear herself away from Randy's side. She sat on her knees behind him in the back of that ambulance while he was checked out.

"I think you should go to the hospital." The woman told them. "I think you may have broken two or three ribs and I'm sure you have a concussion."

Katie felt horrible. It was all her fault. She looked at her mother who had managed to avoid most the hits. Her hands were bruised but for the most part she was okay. She had Randy to thank for that. Her father's grudge against him must have been strong for him to forget her and her mother and go after him. It terrified her how much worse the vendetta would be now. She feared what her father was capable of. She feared past rumors of him killing before being true.

"I'm fine, check her out." Randy insisted, twisting to again check on her. He cupped her face in his hands then kissed her lips repeatedly with small kisses. He then stroked her hair as If she were the most important thing in his life.

"Go to the hospital, Randy." She whispered in a daze. He still confused her so much. She didn't know how to take his actions. She climbed out and walked away from him.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hiya, sweetheart." Sheamus leaned against the locker next to hers the following Monday with a sympathetic smile.

"I thought you broke up with me." She spoke with no anger, just the basic everyday tone instead of the completely in love voice she usually used.

"Of course not." He rubbed two fingers up and down her upper arm. "I still love you, Katie."

"Just not that like that, right?" she questioned, collected her gym bag and tossed it over her shoulder.

"What are you talking about? I love you. That should say it all."  
>"My father could have killed my mother and you just stood there, Sheamus. I'm not particularly turned on by cowards."<p>

"I am not a coward." He spat heatedly. "You don't know how hard it was for me not to step in."

"No, I don't and I don't understand."  
>"I just couldn't. I wanted to, but I wanted to remain here, in this country … with you more."<p>

"And why would you have to worry about leaving? Were you a criminal where you lived before?"

"I was in a gang, Katie. I screwed up and my parents moved here for a new start, but this is it. My last chance. They will make me leave and my dad will have to leave his job. He's been with them forever. What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to step up and be a man."

"I'm sorry. I should have. I know. I should have stepped in and dealt with the consequences."

"They didn't charge Randy with anything." She didn't know why she had said it, but it just flew out of her mouth. She never meant to hurt him or compare him to her ex.

"Yeah, the fella is quick to be the hero but where is he today, Katie love? Hmmm. I don't see him standing beside ya in the hallways."

"I have class." She growled and walked away.

"Think about it, Katie. Randy didn't do what he did for love. He did it to stroke his ego." He called after her causing her to quicken her steps. There was truth in his words and it hurt.

"Look, girls. It's Raggedy Ann!" Brandy called out when she walked into the locker room and began to change. "Aww …. She's trying to be Barbie. Face it, geek. Rag dolls are always rag dolls no matter how many times you change their clothes."

She shrugged off the teasing. It didn't bother her much anymore.

"Check it out." Their distant chatter still fell on her ears even though she tried hard to block them out. Out of curiosity she glanced out of the corner of her eye while Brandy's friends ooohed and awed over the glittering gold around her finger. "Randy gave it to me this weekend." Brandy's eyes fell on her. She was showing it off to purposely inflict pain, but she wouldn't let it show. Thanks to Randy they all knew about her past crush on him, but they didn't know that her crush had developed into something much stronger.

With a book in her hand she headed to the bleachers and settled in for the now regular once a week free period. It was nice to just read something for entertainment and she definitely wanted to escape reality for a while.

"Hey."

"People can see you." She turned the page of her book, ignoring him.

"Good." He put his hand on the book, blocking the words she was reading. "Let them stare all they want." He leaned forward, his lips grinning menacingly. His eyes closed and … she turned her head away, readjusted her position so her back was half to him and returned to her book.

His hands gently gripped her shoulders and began kneading them. She sighed before she could stop herself. He continued to massage for a moment, then one muscular arm encircled her waist and he slid her bottom across the plastic bench until she was leaning against his chest. He leaned against the small dividing wall behind him. She kicked her feet up and rested them on the bench and leaned her head against him. It felt so good to be in his embrace and to rest her forearms on his thighs that straddled her body.

He kissed her cheek and then nestled his chin on her shoulder. He squeezed her tighter.

"I missed you." He whispered with a cracked, sad voice. "The bad thing is that I don't have time for a girlfriend right now. I'm working when I'm not in school and I'm studying when I'm home."

"You? Studying?" She laughed.

"I'm trying."

"Why?" She should have elaborated, told him exactly what she was wanting to know, but it was the only word she could manage.

"I wasn't good enough for you." He whispered. "I'm working hard, but I don't think I'll ever improve myself enough. You're going somewhere, Katie. When I came to school that day I was ready to tell them to go screw themselves, then when you walked up to me, I cared about what my friends thought. I was scared and because of that I realized that I didn't deserve you. I didn't do what I did because I didn't think you were good enough for me. I did it because I wasn't good enough for you and I knew if I kept you in my life that one day you would leave me behind and I didn't want to feel that pain."

She took a deep breath, turned sideways, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him passionately. "You worry about the silliest things." She smiled. She tried to get up and squealed when he pulled her into his lap. His hands caressed her thigh and he bravely let it slip high enough to slide under the leg of her shorts. He cupped her bottom above her panties, holding her on his lap while Brandy, who had stopped practicing with her cheerleader friends stared with glossy eyes. She knew that look. The look of pain. Of rejection. She did wear Randy's ring. He must be her boyfriend.

"Stop." She whispered. She didn't want their moment to end. Their playful romance was unlike anything she had ever experienced, but she had dreamed. "I can't do this."

"Katie," he laughed. "It's not like we're going to make love right here." He squeezed her playfully to keep her from moving away. He thought they were still okay.

"No. I mean. I can't do this. Not as a long as another girl wears your ring. It's not right. Be a man and handle your problem. Then, we'll work on getting back together. Or, getting together because I don't think we can really count what we did before as being together."

"Katie, you're the only girl who has ever worn my ring." He grinned. "I don't have anything to go and handle because I'm not dating anyone. I am not a couple with anyone, in fact, I haven't taken a girl out on a date in months."

"You'll never stop lying to me." She moved his hand away from her and descended the steps of the bleachers.

"Damn it!" He bounced the back of his head off the carpet covered wall.

Katie didn't care if she was sent to the principal. She didn't care if she got detention for leaving class early. All she wanted to do was get out of there. She was tired of playing Randy's games. Sick of his mental warfare that left her confused and hurt.

Last class of the day, thankfully. She waited for Roman in his car. She just needed a moment to clear her mind. She didn't care that Randy had dated Brandy. She didn't care if he had given her that ring, but she did care that he denied having a girlfriend. She hated that he lied about her being the only girl to wear that ring. How could she trust him when he lied about things that there was no reason to lie about?

"Never thought I would see you playing hooky." John stood fumbling with the keys in his hand. She knew who he was but he had never really spoken to her before. He was part of the social elite and was on the football team with Randy. She guessed they were good friends. "What are you doing out here so early?"

"Just because I make good grades doesn't mean I don't need a break once in a while." She rolled her eyes.

"I saw you with Randy."

"We weren't' trying to hide it." She said sarcastically.

"So, I'm guessing you two …"

"No."

"How about a ride home?" She stared at him with as if to ask are you kidding. "Still have an hour before the last bell. It beats sitting here."

"Fine. But I'm going straight home."

"No problem."

She remained quiet in his truck during the ride until he pulled into the driveway.

"Thanks." Was all she would give him and she hopped out of the truck.  
>"Wait." She turned before closing the door. "You want to go out sometime?"<p>

"Is this some kind of a joke? I think I'm smart enough to know when I'm being set up for something. What are you going to do, John? Take me to some party so all your friends can humiliate me?"

"I'm serious." He insisted. "I've acted childish this year. I know that. But people grow up. I think you're pretty and interesting and I want to go out."

"I'll think about it." She shut the door.

"I mean if you and Randy … I understand, but if not I would like a chance before someone else grabs you up. You don't seem to be single long." He gave her a smile that showed the dimple in his cheek. It was a charming smile.

"I'll think about it."


	16. Chapter 16

Friday came quickly and Randy still felt sore from the fight the week before. Thankfully, it was a Friday he didn't have to work.

"There's a party at John's tonight." Roman said casually in gym class at the end of the day. "You want to check it out. It's been a long time since you hung out."

"I know. I feel like I haven't done anything fun in forever." He wished he could spend his free time with Katie, but she had turned him down, again.

"She's going."

"Seriously?"

"John asked her."

"Figures." Randy snorted. "I guess since he's been through every girl in the popular crowd he figured he would start going through the rest of them."

"It's not a date. He just invited her. I knew the guys would stop caring about what Brandy and her friends say about her. Katie is pretty and you're not the only one who sees it. Not anymore."

"I might go. Depends. I might just stay in and play some games. It's been so long since I turned on my PlayStation. The damn remotes are actually collecting dust."

"That is strange. You better take a break before you forget you are still technically a kid. But, hell. You know I wish I could get a job. Diane won't allow it. She says she wants me and Katie to be young while we can. She says we have our whole lives to work."

"Tell Katie I'll call her later, alright?"

"I'm not going to that party if you're not. I'm going to play video games with you all night." He laughed.

Katie walked into John's home. It was a nice three story brick house. It wasn't as big as the mansion Randy had once called home, but it was a mansion compared to her home.

"Katie." John greeted her with a bowl of chips in his hand. "I'm glad you could come. Come on." He nodded and she followed him, a little on edge about why he had invited her. She still expected it was a set up. She wished Andy would have come with her, but she had taken a part time job after school at the diner her mother worked at. "Everyone, ya'll know Katie." He said. The girls glared at her, but they didn't dare question John's guests. He poured what looked like punch into a cup from a bowl on the kitchen counter and handed it to her. She could tell it was full of liquor but it tasted good.

"Katie." Brandy came over to her and leaned against the counter beside her. "I really hope there's no hard feelings."

"I never give anything you say a second thought Brandy."

"Well, John really likes you. So, I guess that means we have to call a truce."

"Fine." She said not really believing her. Brandy began to play with the ring on her finger and she knew she was letting her know that she still wore Randy's ring and that they were still an item. It did hurt and she turned up the plastic cup until the contents were burning its path to her stomach. John laughed and refilled it.

"I guess she's not as nerdy as we thought." Someone called out.

"It's always the quiet ones."

"You're alright, Red."

She downed another. Randy's nickname for her caused her even more trauma and they were all using it. Everyone but John who had draped his arm around her.

"Try this." He held a piece of fruit on a fork, catching the dripping juice with his free hand and he fed it to her.

"MMM. What did you soak it in." it was the best fruit she had ever tasted.

"It's the fruit from the p.j." he told her and took a bite himself then gave her another bite. They shared a whole bowl of it. She soon realized that John was kind of funny and she sat beside him on the couch in his parent's living room, joining in and laughing with the group as if she had always been part of it. She was actually having fun. Something she didn't think would happen when she decided to go. She was just bored. That was the only reason.

"Do you mind if I get some water?" She asked him. She had a lot to drink and she was feeling really intoxicated. But she was smart enough to know that a few glasses of water would help if she stopped drinking the alcohol. She still had to get home that night.

"Sure, help yourself."

"There were a couple of people in the kitchen when she walked in. They greeted her in friendship something that would take some getting used to. She went to the sink and filled a plastic cup and drank it down quickly, then filled it again. She turned sipping on the beverage and smiled. Ryan, John's best friend stood with his arms folded against the table watching her. If she had been in a sober state of mind, his leer would have made her uncomfortable.

"Everyone's starting to leave." He walked over to her. He put something to his lips that she had seen before and lit it. He took a puff then handed it to her. She wanted to feel good. She wanted to relax. She was so sick of the stress her life had been and drinking had not numbed her. What could it hurt to indulge once in a while?

"Do you realize that you sing along with the radio after a few drinks?" She smiled a little embarrassed. "But only to the women singers." Ryan was a big guy. He had broad shoulders and his muscular frame made Randy look like a skeleton.

"I know, I'm a terrible singer."

"No, you're not." He smiled broadly and swayed a bit. "You're definitely not what I expected."

"And what did you expect, Ryan." She giggled now with every phrase. She had achieved the feeling of carelessness. She didn't care about anything. She didn't think about college, money for college, grades. She didn't think about her father's abuse and his threats that promised she would again be under his roof. She didn't care about Randy. She felt peace. Relaxed.

"Everyone usually calls me Ryback." He placed one hand on either side of the counter, trapping romantically, but he still kept a respectable amount of space. She felt like she did the night she had smoked with Randy. The kitchen cleared almost as if he had asked them to go. She felt like she was hovering above her body. She was relaxed, dizzy and could barely take a step without swaying.

"I'm not going to call you that." She insisted. "It's a silly name." He leaned in to kiss her and she thought about stopping him … for a second.

"This dress is so pretty." His hands traveled down her sides, tracing the red dress she wore until he reached where it ended at her mid-thigh. He moved closer, nibbled on her neck. She was too drunk to object and her small pushes were ineffective. The entire situation had turned in another direction so fast and her head swirled. He turned her around and slid the dress up while he kissed her neck. He bent her over the counter. She heard his belt buckle unclasp and his pants unzip, then she felt something warm between her thighs. His fingers pulled her panties to the side and he slipped inside of her. His hand then fondled her breasts while he gently kicked her legs apart so he could thrust in and out easier. She felt herself grow hot but she was trembling. Terrified by what was happening, but only because it was sending a wave of excitement through her. She hadn't wanted it, but she was enjoying what he did. He was taking full advantage, yet her body was responding.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered in her ear. He pulled her upright by her waist and she felt his hot breath on her shoulder before he lowered his lips to touch its flesh. "I never thought you were the wild type." He repositioned her and she nearly stumbled as she twirled to face him. He picked her up like she was weightless and set her on the counter. He again positioned himself between her legs. She clung to him like she was a brainless, limp form. Laying back as his hand slid from her belly to between her breasts. Her body rose and fell as he continued to claim her. His thrusts were harder and rougher. He held tight to her hips to aid his actions. It hurt and felt good at the same time. "Enjoy it, Katie." He ordered between moans. Then he became more aggressive. Grabbing her hair and slamming himself inside of her until she screamed out. He grinned with satisfaction when he had spent himself, not caring if his actions resulted in pregnancy. His thumb rubbed her clit while he gently thrusted until everything inside him had escaped, causing her to writhe and moan, climaxing into exhaustion.

He zipped his pants, staring as she sat up and pulled down her dress. She felt slightly ashamed and didn't know what to say to him. Her head was fuzzy and her thoughts didn't connect. He ran his hand over his head and she watched his tongue run over his lower lip. He seemed at a loss for words too, but like a gentleman, he helped her off the counter. They walked out of the kitchen and Ryan returned to the group of guys he had been hanging out with all night.


	17. Chapter 17

Katie wouldn't talk to Randy all weekend. He tried to see her during the day and when he was at work he tried to contact her on his breaks, but she wouldn't answer his calls and she didn't respond to his messages online. She was still mad at him. He knew she was but he couldn't figure out why? She insisted that another girl wore his ring, but the thing was still in his pocket and had been since she took it off. He didn't know how to convince her that he wasn't with anyone and that there was no one for him to break up with before dating her. The weekend went nothing like he had thought it would and it depressed him.

Monday morning, Katie walked into school and she felt like everyone's eyes were one her. She was sure that Ryan had bragged about the way he had her in John's kitchen and she could imagine the labels they would give her. For the first time in her life, she believed she deserved to be called a slut. What kind of breaks up with one guy, makes out with another, goes to a party with yet another guy and has sex with that guy's best friend all in the same day? She didn't think of herself the same way and she walked around with her eyes glued to her shoes, completely ashamed.

She didn't even know Ryan. He hadn't been in the school long, but he had known John most of his life. He had gone to another school and they were the sons of longtime friends who became pregnant at the same time. They apparently hung out together outside of school all the time. He had only moved to their school district two months before John's party but everyone knew he was just like the rest of the social elite. Thankfully, he had yet to make fun of her like the others. But, she was sure that wouldn't last long. Not now that he had the ultimate information to twist.

John and his friends were standing huddled together in their normal spot. He smiled when she walked by but she thought it was done mockingly as if he knew all about her drunken, high mistake. They all knew and it would only be a matter of time before the entire school knew. Ryan stood with them and he couldn't look at her at all, seemingly embarrassed that he had slept with someone like her.

Randy caught up with her before she could duck into the safety of her homeroom.

"Hey." He smiled weakly and she wondered if someone had told him about her actions at the party. He would be angry and hurt. She was ashamed that she had hurt him that way, but shockingly, she wasn't ashamed of what she had done. She had avoided Randy all weekend and she had hoped to get through the day without seeing him, but she should have known better. "So, how was John's party?" She didn't want to discuss it with him.

"It was fun." And she brushed him off and walked into her class where she was met with another surprise. Ryan was in her homeroom, sitting in the last desk in her row. Had he always been in that class? She went to her desk as if she didn't see him. Like she had never seen him outside of school. She didn't know how to feel about it. Or him. She didn't have a crush on him. She didn't feel any attraction for him. She didn't think anyway. She didn't know anything about him. She hadn't spent any time with him before John's party. It was odd. The entire thing.

"Katie." The homeroom bell rang and he caught up with her, pushing through the small crowd of students to walk beside her in the hall. "You got a minute."

"I already know, Ryan so you don't have to have this conversation with me." She headed for her classroom without feeling the emotional rejection she should have been feeling. That was nice. That was really nice.

Two weeks passed by and Randy still had no luck when it came to Katie. She wouldn't talk to him and Roman told him she wouldn't talk to him about the subject of their relationship. He tried to put himself in a position to run into her, but she always seemed to be one step ahead of him, avoiding him easily. Katie wasn't Katie anymore. She didn't seem as sweet and even Andy said that the girl had changed. They were still close friends, but Katie wasn't as quiet and shy. She seemed more confident in herself and willing to do things she had never wanted to do before. Her school work was still her number one priority, but she was more involved in the extracurricular events at school then she had been before.

The girl actually attended pep rallies. Which made Randy both happy and sad because Katie was never looking his way like she had before. She was more alive in gym and participated without him calling her out and a lot of people started to like her. She was no longer invisible and in a way that hurt him because that secret part of her personality was no longer reserved just for her close friends and him. She wasn't dating anyone. She wasn't flirting or carrying on. He didn't find her making out with anyone. In gym she was one of the guys and that branch of the social elite actually enjoyed having her around. They no longer joined in with the cheerleaders who still found something to bully her about.

Katie had blossomed, perhaps becoming what she had always been. He did what he could to remain friends and he realized that the only way he could be a part of her life was to stop trying to be her boyfriend. She obviously didn't want a relationship at that moment of her life and he had to accept it. He didn't have time for that himself anyway. The year was almost over and he would work full time during the summer. He had improved himself dramatically and he refused to let his feelings for Katie distract him.

It had been a long year and finally she was able to relax. Final exams were over and she just had to coast through the last week of school. Most of the teachers had stopped teaching and had begun to play movies in their classes. They had taught all they had to teach and all that was left was to satisfy the government who said that they had to be in school a certain  
>number of days. Her first class had been relocated to the auditorium because the old computers were being retired and new ones were being set up. To be used the following year of course. Something about left over funds. Still, they would be nice to use when she returned for the advanced course. She settled back in a seat that reminded her of movie theater seats and kicked her feet up on the back of the one in front of her. She had chosen a spot by herself while other kids played on the other side of the room and others slipped out the open doors and played touch football in the grass. She opened a romance novel she had been interested in and got lost in a completely non educational story for once. It wasn't on any reading lists and it wasn't for a book report. It was just for fun and to fuel the desires her body had started to crave.<p>

Someone sat beside her before she could get lost and she was looked up to see Ryan sitting beside her.

He sat on the edge of the seat with his chin on his fingertips. She had never noticed it before, but he appeared tired and had dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look like that the night of John's party. There were no doubts in her mind that something was troubling him. No. it was more than that. Something was tearing at his soul.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. She stared at him. Could she be the reason he was so depressed? "I'm not … I … I'm so sorry. I'm not that kind of guy." He blurted it all out in a cracked voice. "I was drunk and high and I know that doesn't excuse what I did to you but I just wanted you to know. And I haven't told anyone. Not even John. I swear."

She laughed. He was completely serious and she couldn't do anything but laugh at him. 'You didn't do anything to me, Ryan." She giggled. He looked at her like she had gone insane.

"I raped you." He could barely make himself say the words. "I hate myself."

"Stop." She ordered.

"I don't normally do things like that."

"I don't either." She smiled and that made his serious expression crack and he smiled, relaxed and sat back in the chair. He looked ahead for a minute than back at her. "It actually revealed something I didn't know about myself." She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling with a laugh. She should have felt ashamed or guilty but she never had. "It was fun. The entire night. Ryan, I am serious most of the time. I have always done the right thing. That night was the first time I ever even let myself go to one of these parties. Not that I was ever invited before."

"I was expecting you to slap me when I came over here." He chuckled in relief. "I was sure you hated me."

"Of course not."

"If it makes you feel better, you are only the third girl I've ever been with." He nearly whispered. "But neither of them were as beautiful as you."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Come on, Katie. I'm just John's ugly friend."

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm used to it. I hear what people say. For some reason they think being unattractive means you're deaf too."

"You need to stop worrying about what people say." The bell rang and she collected her things. She pecked his cheek. "And you were only my second."

Randy followed Katie. He had snuck out of his own class to see Katie in the auditorium only to find her sitting with the guy. He took long strides to catch up with her in the hall.

"What the hell was that?" He touched her to stop her rushed pace.

"What was what, Randy?"

"I saw you kiss that ape."

"Ape?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Come on, Katie, Ryback? He got his nickname because he looks like some weird breed of gorilla."

"Grow up Randy." She shrugged away from him. She hadn't spoken to him in a month. "I see Brandy is still wearing you ring? Why don't you go and harass her."

"What?" He saw Brandy walking a few steps ahead heading to her next class. He stormed her way. "Brandy!" he said in a scary, angry tone. Brandy turned, but she didn't' seem to notice he was angry.

"Hey baby."

He snatched her hand to reveal an almost exact replica of his ring. It was smaller and fit her forefinger perfectly, but it looked just like his. He wondered where she ahd found it. The one he wore was an antique, given to him by his grandfather. "Where did you get this?"

"What do you mean silly?" Her eyes darted uncomfortably to her friends, but he could hear her begging. "You gave it to me."

"Oh, really?" he dipped into his pocket and pulled out his true ring. "Stop lying to everyone with your cheap copy."

He turned around, hoping that had been enough to convince the girl he truly wanted, but she was nowhere to be found. He thought she would be waiting for him after he had exposed Brandy and proved he had never lied to her.


	18. Chapter 18

Ryan." Katie called out before the he could dip into his next class. He turned with an expression that said he was shocked that she was addressing him. She knew that look so well. It used to be pasted to her own face. "You feel like blowing off the rest of the day."

"Okay." He took what little she carried and they hurried toward the exit. They jumped in his beat up old truck, which also seemed to embarrass him and left the parking lot.

Randy hurried to find to Katie, but had no luck.

"Andy, have you seen Katie."

"She just told me to tell Roman not to wait for her this afternoon."

"She left?"

"Well, they stopped taking attendance." Andy shrugged with a grin. "I'm thinking about it myself."

He knew why Andy would want to skip but why had Katie? He hurried out into the parking lot, but he didn't see her. She could have easily taken Roman's car, knowing he could give him and Andy a ride home, but it remained where he had parked next to it that morning. He didn't see her walking. He hurried to his next class. He had an idea, but needed confirmation. Ryback was supposed to be in his history class. He nearly bursted through the door causing everyone to stare. Ryback was not there.

"Damn." He mumbled under his breath.

"Randy, take your seat." The history teacher seemed too tired to care what her students did. He plopped down in a chair by the window and propped his head up on his elbow. He had lost again and he blamed himself. It was that first mistake that still haunted him and he had to accept that Katie may never forgive him for it.

"Where do you want to go?" Ryan seemed unsure of himself. Unsure of what to do with Katie sitting next to him.

"Somewhere private." She told him. "I just have to get out of that place for a while." She knew he probably thought she wanted to do what they had done at the party and part of her wanted that because it had been exciting. She was addicted to the surge that ran through her body during sex and even more addicted to the relaxing feeling she felt after. Nothing relaxed her that much. In fact, she could never relax at all. She would try, but she always felt tense.

He drove until they pulled into a familiar driveway.

"John's." she arched her eyebrow.

"Um. Yeah." He still seemed embarrassed. He pulled around the side and park behind the large home, then used a key to open the backdoor. "It's okay, no one's here."

"Are you sure? I didn't see John at school."

"John is at the river, fishing." He assured her. She felt a little uneasy being in someone else's home alone with Ryan. It didn't seem right to be in a home that didn't belong to either of them. He stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a couple cold drinks and handed her a can. She took it shocked that he knew what her favorite was. There had to have been at least a half a dozen choices in that large fridge.

He didn't say anything as he climbed the stairs. She followed him until they entered a bedroom. One that she was positive belonged to John, but oddly there was a smaller twin bed against one of the walls and she could tell some things had been moved around because it seemed like John's bigger full size bed had once been in the center of the large room.

Ryan let himself bounce on the twin bed and she sat beside him, then put the can on the stand beside the bed and laid down on the pillow. "I'm so tired, Ryan." Ryan laid down beside her, propped up on his elbow with one hand bravely resting between her hip and abdomen. Then he dared to kiss her lips. She let him. He was a great kisser. It started out slow and sweet, then as they became more comfortable he became more aggressive. She liked that too even when he began to pull off her clothes. She molded to him quickly, forgot everything she had on her mind and just focused on the way Ryan's touch made her feel.

She still felt lost. She was so inexperienced that she didn't know what she should be doing besides clinging to his hard body. She felt nervous as she lifted his shirt. She didn't want him to feel like he was taking advantage. All it took was for to lift his shirt a little bit and he pulled it off then the rest of his clothes followed. The warmth of his body on top of hers felt nice as he positioned himself and she nearly exploded the moment they became one. It was the only dangerous and unresponsible thing she did in her life.

Thoughts entered her mind while she enjoyed his rhythm. For some reason she felt the most loved and wanted when she was making love. She felt wanted and important. That was something she felt most deprived of and she had love at home. Her mother was always wonderful to her and she didn't understand why all of a sudden she needed a male's touch. Why did she feel like she needed their attention? Maybe she had been messed up the abuse she had endured. Maybe her father's words had somehow infected her mind. Then there was Randy who always confused her. She didn't want to love him anymore and she had felt that way for a long time. She had tried to move forward with Sheamus, hoping that being intimate with him would wipe away the trace of feelings Rnady had left behind, but it hadn't happened and she had only let him come close once. She was actually thankful that they had been interrupted, but she hated who had interrupted.

Strangely, she didn't feel that way about Ryan. He seemed nice and she trusted him. She knew he would understand. She knew he wouldn't tell anyone. Sheamus would have told everyone. Randy only used her. She didn't feel used with Ryan even though that had probably been the truth.

Her mind was clear. She was not intoxicated and she had confirmed that what she had felt had nothing to do with what she had drank or smoked. She thought about the way Randy had first taken her. He had planned it completely, purposely used her situation against her. He had used the way she felt about him to please himself and the next morning he hadn't wanted anything to do with her. She knew he only wanted her back because he thought she was easy to get into bed with. That's what made her perfect for him. He thought he could get laid anytime he wanted it with her. He was wrong. It was her decision rather to give herself to a man or not.

Ryan's love making was intense and rough. He was so hungry and that drove her to the edge until it was over. Then he softened, remaining on top of her, kissing her lips softly and holding her. She had never experienced that before. Before that moment she had been walked away from as soon as it had ended.

"OH, hell! I'm sorry man." John walked into the room and walked out immediately.

"Shit." Ryan sighed. She had a feeling there was more to it than him hoping they could keep what they had been doing together quiet. He kissed her once more than hunted their clothes. They dressed quickly then sat on the edge of the bed. They both began to laugh.

John entered again slowly, peeking inside before opening the door completely. He seemed to scowl once he laid eyes on Katie, but he did his best to hide it in his voice.

"I guess this is why you didn't want to go fishing with me today." He flopped down on his bed.

"This wasn't planned, John." Ryan told him, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his nightstand and lit one. Katie took one from the pack without asking permission and he lit it for her then settled his back against the wall, sideways on the bed so his feet hung off the edge. He was so tall. She wanted to hug up to him so she did. Sitting right beside him and he wrapped his arm around her. He never put his shirt back on and her eyes could not stop glancing at his ripped chest.

"Why do you insist on doing that to your body?" John spat then his attention turned to her. "Him? Really Katie?" He stood, staring daggers at his best friend. "I wished my mom never let you and your mother move in here. I wish you were homeless! Hell, I wish they had taken you away to some foster home!"

She didn't understand what was going on, but Ryan's expression instantly turned to one of guilt and John threw a metal strong box hard at his friend and stormed out of the room.

"He'll be okay." It didn't take long for her to put it together. "He'll get over it. Friends do that."

"I've never done this to him before." He sighed. "This is the money we've been saving for our senior year cross-country road trip." He put it on the bed beside him. "I've never made a move on a girl he wanted before." He took a deep breath. "It wasn't really something I had to worry about. I'm not the guy the girls want."

"I wish you would stop. Trust me you have no reason to have low self esteem." She traced the line between his pecks. "You're going to find someone wonderful someday."

"So, what is this, Katie? You like the way I screw you or something?"

"It's not like that." She moved away from him. "Ryan, I don't want a boyfriend, okay? I like you, but I don't like what being labeled as someone's girlfriend does. I don't like how it feels. It's too hard. I feel like a possession. Like something someone wants to own. It hurts so much. And I don't know how to handle all of this. I mean not long ago, no one noticed me unless they wanted to bully me in some way. I finally get to wear nice clothes, wear make up, things I was never allowed to do and guys like me. And some of them are the same guys that used to torture me every day. It's too stressful to date."

Ryan laughed. "We're only friends, Katie. I'm okay with that. If you want to consider me a friend that is."

"Of course, you're my friend, Ryan. I'm sorry I'm so messed up right now."

"I don't think you're messed up. You're going through what we all are right now. WE are transitioning between being a kid and being an adult. We're all confused."

"And he's smart as well as good in bed." She kidded and she let out the breath she had been holding. Stress-free. That's what she needed. She would have time for a relationship when she had cleared her mind and finished high school and college. That was her timeline. It was all her mind could handle.


	19. Chapter 19

Katie didn't feel good about herself over that summer. Thinking about what she believed she had become tormented. Actions often dictated whether a person was good or bad. She was still a caring person. She still helped and did all she could for complete strangers, but all the good deeds she did volunteering at the nursing home could not make up for what she had let herself become. The guilt of it all tore at her soul and she was still so young. She feared what kind of mistakes she would make as time went on. She was weak, vulnerable and unable to distinguish right and wrong all of a sudden. No. that wasn't true. She knew wrong from right. She knew she had sinned. She knew that she should not have laid down with Randy and then with Ryan. And she had let Sheamus touch her in ways she should not have allowed. Thankfully, she had not had the opportunity to sin with John, but would she have if he had gotten her alone. She no longer trusted herself and she would not allow her mind to excuse it. She would not allow herself to put the blame on the alcohol and weed she had ingested. Those were things she knew better than to do as well.

She drew away. From her family, her friends. She avoided Andy the most because she knew her best friend would sense that something was wrong and she would not be able to keep her secret. She told her friend everything and Andy was a good person who would surely sever their ties when she learned what a horrible person she truly was.

Summer was slipping past so fast. Her mother was getting worried and Roman was always standing in her door asking what was wrong. She was tired of the questions. Tired of the same old accusations. 'Are you doing drugs?' Are you depressed?' 'Are you having problems with one of your friends?" Boyfriend?' So many worries from those around her, but she couldn't confide in them. She could divulge her secret. They would all think her so terrible. They would all know soon enough. Some secrets had a way of exposing themselves.

She stared at herself in the mirror. She was expected at the home in an hour. She turned her face from side to side and scowled. She turned the water in the sink on as hot as she could get it and she soaked her face with the scalding water. She grabbed the bar of soap and lathered her face, scrubbing it so hard, wanting to scrape the flesh away. The sinful flesh that had been scared by the devil's temptations. She wanted all the makeup gone. She wanted everything that had attracted the boys to her removed. Her face was so red when she was finished and it stung.

Randy watched Katie from a far. He had taken the volunteer job over the summer, partly for his college resume and partly so he could be close to her. He felt like a stalker, making sure that he arrived after her and avoided her sections, going out of the way on simple errands just so he could slip past her undetected. He was worried about her. He couldn't help it. He had tried to forget and move on. He had hoped that time would fade how he felt, but still his heart shattered every time he saw her. Every time he set eyes on her he felt sick. She wasn't herself. She appeared – sick.

He hung back, watching her from around the corner. She was so nice to the elderly patients. So patient and so devoted. She read to them, helped them eat, listened as they told stories of their lives and she had a unique way of calming irate residents. She had a wonderful heart and he fell deeper in love with her. He didn't think that was possible, but it was.

"Why are you so sad, Child?" An older woman, approaching her ninety-fifth year stroked Katie's soft hair as they sat down to work a jigsaw puzzle. Randy listened, sitting behind her with a male patient who enjoyed putting together model cars. He had been on the same floor with her all morning and she hadn't noticed.

"I'm fine." Katie whispered. "I'm just a little tired."

"Ah, I can tell you're tired, but I don't think you're physically exhausted. Something is eating you up inside. You shouldn't keep it inside."

Katie touched her hand. "I'm okay. I promise." She said with a smile and they worked on the puzzle in silence for a moment.

"It's a boy." The old woman interrupted their silence. "I know the look. You're in love with someone."

Katie sighed. "He deserves better than me."

"Now, what on earth would make you say something like that?"

"Excuse me. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Randy followed Katie, surprised she walked past him without noticing he was there. He followed her out into the parking lot and watched her lean against her car. She looked like she was trying to bring herself under control. Like she was about to break and sob hysterically. He went to her, put his arms around her from behind. She turned and gazed into his eyes.

"Randy." And the damn broke. "I'm so sorry." She clung to him, soaking his tee-shirt with salty drops.

"Shhh." He consoled. "It's going to be okay." She didn't have to explain why she was so upset. He knew what she had been through. He knew about the abuse she had dealt with all her life. She had every right to go through bouts of depression and sadness. All he wanted to do was take all that away. He couldn't erase it, but maybe he could show her that the future would be so different.

"No." she insisted. "I love you." She cried. "I love you more than you could ever understand and you will never forgive me."

He didn't understand. He couldn't imagine her doing anything that would be unforgiveable.

"I didn't realize it. Or maybe I did and I was scared to admit. I was so scared to feel what I'm feeling. And then I … and then I … "her words stopped making sense and all he could do was hold her.

"Tell me." He told her softly. "You're torturing yourself. Just tell me. I hate to see you like this baby."

"I slept with someone else." She blurted out. "I'm a horrible person. I've had two boyfriends in less than nine months and I slept with two guys that I wasn't even dating at the time. I'm a slut. I've become a whore just like my father always said I was."

"Katie." It did hurt that he was no longer the only one she had been intimate with, but he wasn't a saint. "You and I were not together."

"But I didn't know him"

"It's okay." He knew her too well. He knew she was punishing herself. She had always had high moral guidelines and had always had respect for herself and others. He knew she was going through emotions he would never understand and those emotions had pushed her to do the things she had done. And he was partly to blame. All her life, the men in her life had hurt her. They had shattered her when they should have protected and he was guilty. Of course she craved a gentle touch and sweet smile. Of course she needed the affection. "Katie I've had one night stands. What makes you think I wouldn't forgive you when I've had more than ten intimate partners in the past year? Hell before you I had slept with two and three in the same week. You're not horrible. Please stop destroying yourself. Your father is an asshole and you can't let the things he said affect you."

"I can't help it."

"Would it help if I told you that I still want you?"

"But I'm dirty."

"No you're not." He laughed. "I need you Katie. I love you and I want you to be my girlfriend. I shout it in the middle of the very next pep rally if I have to. Whatever it takes to prove how I feel about you."

"I don't know."

"Katie. I was with someone else too since we were together. It's not a contest and we both made mistakes. Let's just start with a clean slate. Starting right now. This very moment."


	20. Chapter 20

"How can you forgive me so easily?" Katie felt like a child gazing into his eyes. "Especially after the way I …" He put a finger to her lips.

"If I hadn't hurt you, none of this would have happened. I know you wanted to feel like you did the day we were together. I know you needed that and I also know that it was easier for you to find another guy than come back to me. I'll never hurt you again. I promise."

"Randy, I have to tell you something." She buried her face into his chest. "You're really going to hate me."

"I could never hate you."

"I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"I'm five months pregnant. Almost six."

"How is that possible? You don't look …"  
>"I've been hiding it. I've been careful not to gain much weight. This will break my mother's heart. I still can't believe no one's noticed this little bump." She smoothed her shirt over her belly. Randy stared. It was barely noticeable and he hoped that she hadn't done any damage to the baby or herself by purposely preventing her body to grow with the unborn child.<p>

"Six months?" Randy ran his hand over his hair. "I'm the father. I know I am. I know you weren't with anyone else until recently. And don't try to deny it, Katie. I heard Sheamus complain numerous times about how frustrating he was that the two of you hadn't had sex. So I know it's not his! Damn it! Katie how could not tell me! And you have been drinking and smoking. Really Katie?"

"Randy I didn't realize. I didn't know for months. I swear. I had no idea I was pregnant when I went to that party."

"What if you hurt the baby?"

"I fear that every day."

"How could you not know you were pregnant?"

"I didn't skip, Randy. I missed my first period two months ago and I thought it was Ryan's. But when I went to the clinic they said I was further along."

"This makes no sense."

"And ever since I found Out I've been careful not to gain. I don't' know how I'm going to tell everyone. How am I going to tell my mom?"

"We'll do it together." Randy was angry at her, but he couldn't show her he was angry. She was scared and she needed him to tell her everything was going to be fine even though he wasn't so sure that it would be."

"I'm so stupid." She sobbed uncontrollably. "How could I not know? Everything seemed normal. I had no cravings. I haven't been throwing up. I still had my period. But I felt hungry all the time. I should have known. I thought it was the extra activity. The long baseball practices, the workouts. The running and then doing this half the day. I'm so sorry."

"Come on." He ushered her into his car. "You need to rest. I doubt you have slept very much in the past couple months."

It seemed impossible. It seemed so unreal. He was going to be a father in a few short months and he was so irate he could barely force himself to hold her hand supportively. But worse, he couldn't stand to see her in the state she was in. She had lived with the secret with no one to confide in for so long. He knew what she was thinking. He knew how terrible she imagined herself to be. He wished she had come to him sooner.

"I love you, Katie." He kissed her hand and stared into her eyes. "Everything is going to be just fine. I promise."

"Randy! Look out!"

His attention quickly averted ahead and he jerked the wheel, but he was too late. The car that had pulled out in front of him was blocking his path and there was no time to stop no matter how hard he pressed the brakes.

Katie woke up to the sound of hysterical screaming. She opened her eyes slowly. Her head hurt. Her arm hurt. Her legs. Everything hurt. She reached out stiff fingers. The seat beside her was still occupied even though she could not see.

"Randy?" But no sound came from her lips. She could feel him. She struggled to free herself from the seatbelt and inched with great difficulty towards him. She felt the warm sticky substance that seemed to cover him, but he didn't move. She laid her head on his chest and succumbed.

Randy stroked her hair as he listened to the sirens. People yelled, barked out orders and he heard what sounded like a saw. Metal was being pried apart and he heard children sobbing like they were scared and perhaps in pain. He couldn't feel his legs, but his back felt like it had been twisted. Tears fell from his eyes in silent streams. Katie hadn't moved since he had awoken. Whether she had been thrown upon him during the crash or had crawled to him, he did not know, but he did know she wasn't responding to his voice or his touch. His radio still played the soft rock station he had switched it to before the crash. The songs Katie loved so much and he listened and stroked her blood streaked hair. "I love you came too late." He whispered along with the lyrics and sobbed. He feared the worst even though a medic squatted beside him after prying open the door with a crowbar.

"Are you alright son?" But his words were meaningless. Of course he wasn't okay. She wasn't okay, so he would never be alright again.

"Don't touch her." He ordered when the young man who couldn't be much older than him attempted to check her pulse. 'She's gone. Let her have peace. That's all she ever wanted." She was quickly taken from him, yanked from his grasp and he was too weak to protest. He was next, swept away on a gurney and into an ambulance. He was rushed away. The picture of them trying to revive her stuck in his mind.

He awoke the next day, remembering that she was gone. His legs felt heavy and they were elevated in the air in casts. His arm was in a sling and his head was wrapped with bandages. His father sat by his bedside asleep and Patty's eyes were closed and swollen. Andy sat holding his good hand with the same anguished eyes.

"Hey, little sister." He rubbed her hand, knowing she was going through so much more than just worrying about his health.

"Hey." Andy stood up and kissed his cheek. "Roman just left. He went to get some food for us. You want him to bring you something back?"

He knew she didn't know what else to say. "I don't feel much like eating. I wish they would have just left me with her. I didn't want to be saved. I don't want to live without her. She was pregnant, you know?"

"I know, Randy. They took the baby. She is in the neonatal ICU. She so small but they said she is the strongest baby they have ever seen."

"I have a daughter?"

"I knew it couldn't be anyone else's."

Randy pinched the bridge of his nose and started to sob again. He had a child to take care of and he had just learned about her existence. And he had to do it alone, without the girl who had taken his heart with her. He wondered if he would be able to love the child the way she deserved. Would seeing her hurt too much?

"I want to see her."

"Um, I'll go talk to someone." But he could tell by her voice that it might be an impossible request.

A few minutes later, a nurse came with a wheelchair and two mail orderlies helped her transfer him to that chair. His father woke up, but he only watched. Randy hung his head, partially remorseful for the disappointment he knew his father felt. He had made him a grandfather too early and he knew that was something his father had not wanted for him.

He was taken to the neonatal ICU. It was difficult for him to sit in that chair and even more difficult for the chair to find a parking place with his legs sticking straight out in front of him. But he forced himself even if it killed him he would see his baby girl. He stuck his hands into the plastic gloves and touched the tiny hands. He read the card. Baby Girl, 1 pound 3 ounces. How could something so tiny have a chance to survive when her mother hadn't?


	21. Chapter 21

"Hey sweetheart." Diane came in and sat down beside Randy. "I guess you two were hiding quite the secret."

"That's not entirely true." He sighed. "But I am sorry."

"What is the truth?"

"I just found out before the accident. She just told me."

"It's hard to believe that she kept something like this a secret. That's not like Katie."

"I know. She was scared. She said she didn't know until last month, maybe the month before and I believe her. Am I stupid?"

"No. That child has been just like me all her life and I was four months pregnant with her before I missed my monthly visitor. She hasn't been herself lately. I was so worried that her father may have damaged her more than she could ever overcome."

"He may have." Randy sighed. "But she's at peace now."

"I hope so."

"I know she is. She was an angel here, so I know she's in heaven now."

"Heaven? Randy, Katie survived. She had a rough night and day, but she woke up about an hour or so ago."

"She's okay? Thank you." He closed his eyes and prayed. "But she was gone." He tried to wrap his mind around what he had felt in the car and what he was hearing. "I didn't feel her breathing."

"They saved her, sweetie. They were able to bring her back and she stayed." Diane smiled through her tears. "Something very strong kept her here and I think it was you and that little girl."

"I'm so sorry."

"Randy, everything happens for a reason." Diane smiled and looked at her granddaughter. "Isn't' she precious?"

"She's' beautiful."

"You should go back and rest." She stroked his hair in a motherly fashion.

"I want to see Katie."

"You and Katie will see plenty of each other in a day or so. AS soon as the doctor gives the okay she will be moved to your room."

Randy laughed. "I never thought our parents would allow us to be roommates.  
>"It's not like we have to worry about the two of you doing anything. For a long time." She laughed again. "Go to bed kid. You better sleep while you can because when that little one comes home, you and Katie will be doing the three am feedings. Not grandma."<p>

"Yes, ma'am."

Randy was taken back to his room. His father was sipping coffee and eating a burger. He scowled at him while he was placed back in his bed. Randy hung his head, waiting on the words that would wound. Instead, Bob threw a double cheeseburger at him. "Don't make a habit of it, kid. Eat."

Randy could barely stand it the next day. The day went by so slowly and by nightfall Katie still had not joined him. The bed beside him remained empty. He called the switchboard, trying to get her room but they told him that the ICU rooms did not have phones, so he dialed Diane instead.

"Randy," she sounded tired. "Katie slipped into a coma."

"No." He shook his head. "You said she was getting better."

"I don't know what happened. She was smiling and then she closed her eyes and …"

"Can I talk to her?" Randy begged. "Can you hold the phone to her ear?"

"Okay."

He didn't know if it would do any good, but he talked to her. He talked to her for a long time and he knew that Diane had him on speaker phone, but he kept talking. He talked to her all night until he fell asleep. "I love you baby." He told her so many times that it became the only clear words he could emit.

The next day, his room was invaded by people in scrubs and white jackets. The other half of his room was being filled with machines and equipment. He guessed he was getting a new roommate and his hopes of seeing Katie in the bed beside him diminished.

Then Diane walked into the room.

"They're bringing her up." She sat beside his bed and tapped his hand. "She smiled last night while you were talking to her. She is responding to your voice. I want her with you. Those doctors say that it's just a reflex and not to get my hopes up." She began to cry. "She was hurt so badly. But I know she hears us. She hears you. They said she's going to die so it doesn't matter where I move her. They want me to sign papers so they can remove … I can't. I can't give up on my little girl."

"Move the bed closer to mine." Randy wanted to yell at the people with their hopeless expressions. They all shook their heads as if Diane and Randy were foolish. He saw the pity in their eyes. They felt sorry for the people who loved this young woman too much to accept reality, but they obliged him and rearranged the equipment and pushed the bed as close to his as they could, then they moved his away from the window so they could still get him in and out of bed, leaving his bed touching what would be hers. Katie was brought in an hour later and he stretched his hand out and took her hand. Randy talked to her every waking moment. He went to visit his baby girl a few times a day and when he would come back, he would tell her all about her progress.

"She's getting so big, sweetheart. You have to wake up soon so you can see."

He went on and on. When he had visitors he talked to her as if she was awake and involved in the conversation. His friends from school thought he had gone mad. Maybe he had. They couldn't believe he had fathered a child with her. But he was proud and vowed he would never again deny how what he felt for Katie.

Ryan walked in later that day, the look on his face when he saw Katie laying there so helpless told him that he had been the one. Randy was livid when he sat down in the chair beside her. Too far away for him to try and take a swing at him. Ryan didn't care. He took her hand and kissed her cheek, completely disrespecting Randy.

"Katie, girl I see you got yourself in another mess." He laughed. "Come on back, beautiful. You're a sweetheart and we need more girls like you in this world." He sighed and turned his attention to the man lying as close as he could get to her. "You're a lucky man, Randy. I know how much she loves you and you don't have to worry about me getting in the way."

"I hope not."

"You don't. But I can't stop wondering about the baby."

"You slept with her two months ago, Ryan. She was almost six months. What makes you think that child is yours. That little girl wouldn't exist if Katie wasn't so far along."

"I guess not. I loved her too Randy." He wiped a tear away. "But you always had her heart. I'll see you around. I hope there's no hard feelings."

"Life's too short for that crap."

"That's true. You're all in my prayers. Katie … you and the baby."

"Thanks." He waited for him to leave. "OH, baby. I need you." He squeezed her hand. "I don't care about Ryan. No one does. How can I be mad at him for wanting you? You're so beautiful and sweet and kind. Everyone loves you once they get a chance to know you. Hell, I even heard John say something about falling for you once." Randy laughed. "He pissed me off. I had to deck him." He thought he felt her fingers move, but he sighed, knowing it was his imagination.

Everyday someone tried to convince Diane to shut off Katie's life support. The entire time he would sit beside her in his wheelchair, squeezing her hand and begging her to wake up. Maybe he was selfish, but he would rather have her lying in eternal sleep in that hospital forever, than bury her in some cold cemetery. Either way she would be gone, but at least his way, he could still look at her whenever he wanted. He could hold her hand and talk to her. She would never be completely gone and there would always be hope.


	22. Chapter 22

Randy was released from the hospital with his leg still in a cast, his head still receiving periodic headaches and the many visible cuts and bruises, but his chest was empty, his heart left behind with Katie and his daughter.

"Randy, don't you think it's about time we gave her a name? We can't very well keep calling her baby girl all the time." Diane tried to be sympathetic and she had tried to approach the subject carefully.

"I will, when Katie wakes up."

"Randy." She touched his shoulder and his step mother took his hand.

"Sweetheart." Patty said in almost a whisper. "I know how hard this is for you and it is so beautiful the way you have hope for Katie, but right now, we really need to think about what is best for that little girl. We all know Katie …"

"You don't know her. No one here knows her like I do."

"Fine, son. Then think. Would Katie want this baby to keep living without an identity of her own?"

"No." Randy sighed. "She would hate that. Just give me some time." He didn't ask permission to enter Katie's room, but he needed to be close to her and the best way he could think to be close to her, or at least the closest to the way she was before the accident. He wanted sit and look at the things she had last touched. He sat on the sofa, he touched the blouse draped over the edge. He felt the silky material in his fingers then he picked it up and held it to his nose. Her perfume still graced the fabric. He hugged it to his chest and sobbed uncontrollably. His eyes darted around the room. He missed her so much and he had so few memories and he cried even harder when he thought about how much time was wasted, time that could have been spent with her.

Her laptop remained where she had left it. He ran his fingers over the keyboard, hoping to feel the warmth of where her fingers had once traced. The screen illuminated to the last page she had been reading.

Corrine – French – 'Beautiful Maiden'

As if she had known all along she would have a girl, as she had somehow known what tragedy would fall upon her, she had left behind the answer that he had been seeking.

Corrine Elizabeth. He could think of no other name more beautiful and that was what he signed on his baby girl's birth certificate that very night. Her mother had chosen her name and her middle name was that of his late mother's. He stayed with Corrine for a few hours then went to Katie's room and told her the name and begged her to forgive him for doing it without her.

"The doctor says she's gaining a lot of weight. She's breathing on her own." He smiled, gently rubbing her hand. "She's up to three pounds now. She'll be two months old next week and they said we'll be able to hold her soon. Oh, Katie, I want you to be there. I want to see you holding her in your arms. You have to wake up. You have to see what our love created."

He waited two weeks before the doctor finally allowed him to hold Corrine. She had gained another half-pound and was breathing on her own. She didn't look as sickly as she had since the day she was born. Her color had begun to look normal, dark like his own and her hair – red like her mom and she had Katie's gorgeous eyes. He rocked her in his arms with a proud smile thinking about how hard his job as her father would be when she became old enough to date. He kissed the baby girls forehead and sighed. The more of Katie he saw in Corrine, the more sadness darkened that happy moment. He handed her to Diane who had been waiting patiently with her other grandparents and watched as the grandmother rocked the precious package.

"Randy." Patty laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke in her normal calming tone. "There's something we all have to talk to you about." He glanced at Diane and noticed how puffy and blood shot her eyes were. Her husband looked sympathetic, but stared at the floor, unwilling to meet his eyes.

"Son." Bob was the brave one. The one who knelt to deliver the news. "It's time."

"No." His father didn't have to say anymore. "I won't let you murder her." He was too tired to scream out but his face relayed all his anger and hurt.

"It's not murder. She's suffering, Randy." Bob's tone reminded him of how he had spoken to him as a boy when he had done something wrong.

"She's just asleep."

"We all want to believe that. But we can't be selfish. You can't be selfish. It's time. Diane has already signed the paper."

"What? How could you?"

"Randy, I love her so much." Diane's voice cracked. "But I can't let her lay there like that. She's already gone. It's time to let her rest. It's time for her to find peace and go where she can watch over all of us."

"When?"

"Tomorrow." Diane began to cry so uncontrollably that she had to hand Corrine to her husband. She went to Randy, knelt and took his hands. "We have to let her go, now."

It was the first time Randy ever cried uncontrollably in front of so many people. He had cried in front of Katie, but even then he had had some control. But loosing he was more than he could take. He couldn't stop the tears. He couldn't catch his breath. All hope was gone. His heart would die with her.

Randy held Katie's hand as he watched the uniformed people enter the room. To him they were demons. He listened as they talked to Diane and explained what they were going to do, but he didn't really hear them.

"She will go quickly after the machines are taken away." The doctor softly explained. "She won't feel any pain. It will peaceful."

"Wait." Randy choked out as they were about to begin. "I want … I want … Corrine to see her mom before …"

"She's too young, Randy. She won't remember."

"Please. I just want to be able to tell my daughter that she had met her mother."

It was a request that no one seemed to think was a good idea."

"If the child is strong enough." The doctor accommodated his wishes but looked to Diane for permission. She nodded and he went off to see about his request. It bought him a few more minutes with Katie and he continued to stroke her hand and beg her to show some sign that she was getting better.

Corrine was brought in by a nurse in a clear plastic bassinet on wheels. He took the small child in his arms and took her to her mother.

"This is your daughter, Katie." It was a heartbreaking scene that made everyone in the room sob. He took the baby to Katie and laid her on her chest, then knelt down so he could see them together. Corrine seemed to know she was with her mother and she fell asleep, content and peaceful. He wanted to remember this moment. He wanted to commit it to his memory. He pretended that nothing was wrong and that they were both just sleeping.

"It's time." They didn't make him take the baby away while they took the breathing tube from Katie's mouth and then one by one they began to flip switches and the humming in the room was gone. It was silent except for the soft sobbing. Randy held her hand and rubbed.

"I love you, baby." He kissed her lips. The last kiss they would ever share.


	23. Chapter 23

Randy reached for Corrine. He didn't want her to be lying on her mother's heartbeat when it stopped beating. He barely lifted her before an arm reached up and touched her back, holding her to Katie's chest. Randy smiled, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Katie was holding her child. Her eyes were still closed, but her heartbeat remained strong even with the machines no longer aiding it.

"Fight sweetheart." Diane rubbed her daughters arm. She moaned.

"Return to me baby." Randy rubbed her hand. She squeezed it. Then Corrine began to stir. The baby uttered a small cry. Katie's eyes popped open. A nearby nurse who had been watching screamed out as if a corpse had risen from the dead. The doctors were baffled. "I told you." Randy cried out with happiness. "I told you!" He turned to Katie. He bent down to kiss her lips.

"Randy?" He caressed her cheeks, rained kisses all over her face. "You're here?"

"Of course, sweetheart." He didn't care that people could see his tears.

Katie didn't know how she had ended up in the hospital. She couldn't remember what had happened to her and she was even more surprised to see Randy—the guy she had the biggest crush on standing by her side. She never thought he even knew who she was. And there was a baby lying on her chest. She rubbed the baby's back. She loved babies, but she wondered who's she was. Her mother stood smiling. And the man at her side with his arm around her must be her new step father. The baby had to be her sister. She hadn't been allowed to see her mother in so long. She must have had another child with her new husband. She didn't see her father or her stepmother. They must have been responsible. Perhaps they were in jail. She was glad. They had made her life so miserable. It was wonderful to think that they couldn't hurt her again.

The doctor's ordered everyone out of the room and they went through a series of tests. They asked her questions. The baby was taken out of the room by a nurse. They tested her reflexes, moved her legs and arms and felt her body, asking her periodically if she felt any pain. She felt nothing except a slight headache. Everything else seemed fine. They asked her to lift this and that and she could. Everything worked okay. Then they left and said they would send her family back soon.

She let out a deep breath of relief. She may have been in the hospital, but she felt a weight lift off of her. Surely, she would not be forced to go back to her father's home. She would be safe and happy and maybe she really would have a shot with someone like Randy. She would no longer be forbidden from dating or talking to a boy. She would have decent clothes without holes and rips. She would be okay living with her mother.

Randy paced impatiently. His daughter was taken back to the nursery and he waited outside the hospital room waiting for them to let him go back to Katie's side. Finally, the doctor came out.

"I can't explain it." He smiled. "But that girl is stronger than any I've ever seen. It truly is a miracle. She seems to have no paralysis in her body, but I'm afraid the head trauma has left her with some memory loss."

"Memory loss? You mean amnesia?" Diane asked then nodded. Randy knew they all felt it was better than what they had expected only a couple of hours before. She was still with them and that was wonderful.

"I think so, but we'll have to run some tests because I'm scared it may be more serious than that."

"How could it be more serious?"

"She might have suffered permanent damage to the brain tissue. There may be some scaring that could prevent her from storing new information. I'll run some tests and then we'll know what we are dealing with."

"You mean, she might not ever remember anything that happens in the future?" Randy felt like it was a bad dream. He didn't know what point of her life Katie thought she was living, but he did know it was a time before he was part of it. He could have dealt with that, but the idea of her falling asleep and forgetting even after he explained how much he loved her tore him apart.

"It's a possibility."

It was hard for Katie to sit up in the bed, but she forced herself. It had been a week since she had awoke and the doctor's made her remain still for so long even though she wanted to jump from the bed. She felt stiff like she hadn't moved in a long time. She began to feel the bruises that looked as if they had healed considerable since she received them. Randy walked back in and she smiled. That boy always made her smile when she saw him. Even when he and his friends had bullied her, seeing him walk by brought her joy. He had never actually said anything mean himself.

"hey." He said cautiously and then sat in the chair beside her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." She felt nervous being alone with him. She hated that she looked so horrible. She hadn't see herself, but she knew she must have been in a mess.

"You don't remember what happened to you?"

She thought hard then shook her head slowly. "No. I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah." He looked sad. "Katie." He touched her hand and she felt her heart skip a beat. "I'm going to tell you something. I don't know if it's too soon or not, but I feel like I should say it. "I love you."

Katie's mouth dropped. She had only dreamed of hearing those words from him.

"And I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you."

"I …" she choked on the words. She had to be dreaming. It couldn't' be real. "I've always liked you Randy." She felt herself blushing. It wasn't what she wanted to say. Oh, how she wished she could be one of those clever girls that kept the boys guessing.

Randy chuckled and clasped his hands. It was just his luck. At least she liked him.

"Katie, do you remember, anything?"

"Yes, I remember everything." She laughed. "I know who I am and I know where I go to school and I know who you are, but I never thought you knew me. And I'm surprised that you know my real name. Or my first name. My father always made me go by Teagan …"

"And you always hated it because you had been known as Katie most of your life."

"Wow." She again blushed. "I don't know what to say."

"I know that your favorite color is pink and not the baby pink but dark, almost purple pink. You hate to pull your hair in a ponytail and you always blush when someone calls you beautiful because you don't think that you are. I know you that you love cats and you laugh so hard at those movies on the comedy channel, not because you think they are funny but because of how stupid the people in them act."

"I can't believe you know all of this." She couldn't look him in the eye. It felt like he was seeing her completely naked. "What happened to your leg?"

"Car accident."

"Oh, are you okay?" she bit her lip. "That sounded so stupid. Of course you're okay. I mean were you hurt anywhere else? Anywhere I can't see?"

"Just here." He touched his heart."

She looked at him strangely. Unable to understand what he meant.

"We were together, Katie. You were with me when I crashed and I almost killed you."

"Oh, that's why you're so upset."

"What?"

"It was a joke right? Something Brandy put you up to?"

"No."

"I get it." Her eyes grew dark. "Don't feel guilty, Randy. Its kid stuff right? Just stuff people our age do? Well, maybe now that you know that people can really get hurt, you might think before you do it to the next person."

"Go away, Randy." She turned her body away from him. "Get out."

"No." he insisted, taking great pains to get up and sit on the edge of her bed. He touched her hip.

"Don't touch me. All of you in that damn social elite group think you can do whatever you want. Well you can't."

"Damn it." He said before he could help himself. "Will you just listen to me? There is so much you don't remember. Katie, we were together. We have been together. Girl, you have my heart and right now it's breaking."

"Why are you doing this? Isn't it enough that I'm lying in the hospital? You have no idea what my father's going to do to me. You have no idea the price I'll pay for your little joke." Katie began to shake. She had realized that she wasn't in the hospital for the reasons she had thought and it was only a matter of time before her father came. It would probably be on the day she was discharged. And she would pay so dearly when he got her home. She didn't know if she would be able to handle it on top of the injuries she already had. "I hope you and your friends got a good laugh out of it."

"My feelings for you are no joke." He retreated. Grabbed his crutches and decided to leave her alone. Nothing he could say would convince her at that moment. He wanted to blurt out everything about Corrine, but Diane and his parent's warnings prevented him from doing so. Besides. She probably wouldn't' believe him anyway.

Katie turned toward the door. She didn't know how to take Randy and his intentions. He hadn't paid much attention to her before. Then again, he had been nice to her a few times. In the lunch line once. And he had helped her pick up her books once. She remembered she had been running through the empty hallway, rushing to catch the bus after being detained by a teacher who had punished the entire class because of just two students who had thought it would be funny to take a precious bowl from her desk that had been made for her by her little girl. She had made them all stay long after the bell until it was finally returned, but her father would never believe that if she missed the bus. He never believed things like that and he would accuse her of doing something wrong that caused the teacher to detain only her.

But she had been running so fast, clutching the heavy load having no time to stop by her locker. She hadn't been looking at anything but the back door that would take her to her target and did not see the janitor's mop that had fallen across the floor. She fell hard, skinning her knee on the carpet, her books scattered everywhere and she had been embarrassed to see Randy walking in the hall and he had seen the entire thing. She had expected him to laugh at her, but instead, he helped her gather her belongings. That had been nice. But his girlfriend? Yeah, right.


	24. Chapter 24

Later that night her phone rang and she answered it expecting it to be her mother. She had been the only one to call her besides Andrea.

"Hey." A boy's voice answered.

"Who is this?"

"It's Roman."

"Roman?"

"Your brother."

"You're my bully not my brother." She said disdainfully.

"Damn, they weren't kidding."

"What?"

"Nothing. How are you feeling, Red." He said as if he knew her personally, but she remembered that Randy had called her that a few times.

"I'm sore. I can tell I'm on speaker, Roman. I guess you have a room full of friends. Go ahead. Laugh. You think it's funny to hurt people."

"You need to shut up." He said gruffly. "That's a horrible thing for anyone to do. That's even too terrible for Brandy and her friends to do. Red, no one else wants to tell you. But damn it, I'm going to anyway. You're missing a whole lot of your memory girl. Randy, me, you and Andy. We're a group sweetheart. We've been close for nearly a long time now. I'm in love with Andy and Randy – Randy is crazy as hell about you."

"That's impossible."

"You want proof? Ring that buzzer on your bed and ask the nurse to bring your baby to you."

"My baby?"  
>"Just do it." And he hung up the phone.<p>

It made no sense. How could she have had a baby? She didn't remember making love to anyone much less being pregnant. Still, she was curious, so she did as Roman asked, expecting Brandy and her friends to come walking in with a baby doll. She didn't trust any of them. They had been so mean and had done so many unthinkable things to her. It was hard not to think that everything that was happening to her was part of some elaborate joke.

A few minutes later a little girl was rolled in and the nurse smiled as she lifted her out and placed her in Katie's arms.

"Oh my goodness." Katie felt the tears come to her eyes. "She's really mine."

"Yes." The nurse said with a smile.

Katie read the name tag on the bassinet. "Corrine Orton."

"I'm a mom?" The baby curled her tiny fingers around her and she felt an unexplainable bound. "She's so tiny."

"That's normal. She was born three months early. But she's quite the little fighter. Just like her mama."

"Oh my goodness." Katie exclaimed. "Is she okay now?"

"She's gaining weight. The doctor says she can go home when you do."

"I can't believe it."

"I'll give you some time alone. You call me when you start to feel tired okay?"

"Thank you."

She had never felt the kind of love like what she felt instantly for Corrine. She had Randy's complexion and her red hair. She was so beautiful and it was so unbelievable that she had been with Randy. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to apologize she could only imagine what he thought about her now, after the things she had said to him. But she didn't have his number. Or maybe she did and just didn't remember.

She called Andrea.

"Andy …" She paused. Why had she called her that? She had never called her that before.  
>"Hey. You sound so much better than you did earlier."<p>

"I – this sounds so crazy, but I want to talk to Randy."

"I have his number." That was shocking. She felt like she was living in an alternate universe. She hung up the phone after getting Randy's number and then stared at the phone. Corrine was sleeping so peacefully in one arm and she had the phone sitting on her other side. She dialed the number slowly. She wondered if she was asleep and dreaming, but decided if it was, she wanted to know what he would say when she called. It rang and she felt her heart beat faster. She felt so nervous.

Randy held a bouquet of flowers in his hand on the elevator. He expected Katie to throw them back at him the moment he handed them to her, but he wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.

"Hello." He usually didn't answer strange numbers, but something told him not to ignore this one.

"Randy?" It sounded like a whisper. A sob laced whisper.

"Katie, what is it baby." She wasn't speaking. Only crying and he immediately panicked. "Katie, what is it? Are you hurt? What's wrong?" But she only cried. Then he heard a baby's cry. Was it Corrine? How – why did she have the baby?

He rushed through the halls. Trying his best to run with his crutch, not caring that he was spilling water out of the vase in his hand. Not caring that the foot of his cast was breaking apart and his leg was complaining. Katie was still on the phone. He didn't hang it up until he saw her sitting in the bed with the baby in one hand and the phone in the other.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed the moment he was at her side and she threw her arms around him.

"Katie? What's wrong?" He embraced her, savoring her embrace even though he was worried.

"I remembered everything." She cried. "The minute I heard your voice on the phone. We talked on the phone more than anything else … you were always begging me." She managed a small laugh. "I don't want to be apart. Never ever again."

"never." He held her and promised. "I promise."

Randy laced up his boots. It was his first night working for the wrestling company that his father had once worked for. Five years had passed since the accident and Katie was sitting in the front row ready to cheer him on. He wasn't nervous, not about his debut, but later that night – that had his stomach in knots. He had worked a long time. Waiting until he knew he could give both his girls the life they deserved. Now, he could. He just hoped that Katie would say yes.

The End.


End file.
